Resistance
by mangotango15
Summary: SEQUEL to UNBROKEN. Killian and Emma have landed in Wonderland for one purpose and one purpose only, and no one knows why they chose to do this. Little do they know that Jefferosn, Grace, and Henry have followed their footsteps, but with a purpose of their own. Will they return to Storybrooke in time? Rated T; title subject to change.
1. Off To Wonderland

Chapter 1: Off to Wonderland

Emma:

Emma opened her eyes and saw a bright blue, cloudless sky. They were in a field of grass with mushrooms and flowers sticking out and about. They had made it to Wonderland, just as planned.

She recalled as she first introduced the plan to him. They'd been running to the throne room in the castle.

_"Killian, what if we went to Wonderland before going back to Storybrooke?" she asked._

_ "You're out of your mind. Your mother and father would go mad," he disagreed._

_ "I promised to help you though," Emma protested. "Now would be the perfect time. I mean, when you get to Storybrooke, I doubt you'd want to leave, considering the fact that you want to get revenge on Go –Rumplestiltskin right away…even though I won't let it happen." _

_ "I want to get you home safely first. It's what you've wanted this entire time."_

_ "We have the magic beans with us. I can use magic. You're a good navigator. This can work. Imagine, we can succeed in Wonderland, we can bring her back with us." _

_ "You don't understand, if the queen finds out that I'm there, she'll skin me alive. She hates me more than Rumplestiltskin and Jefferson combined." _

_ Emma paused for a moment. "I'm willing to risk everything, for you. I trust you for once, and I want you to trust me. Please, from Wonderland, we can go straight back to Storybrooke."_

_ Killian knew he wouldn't win the fight. "Alright, fine. How are we going to tell your mother?" _

_ "We don't," Emma gave him a sly smile. She knew he loved it when she didn't listen to her mother. "We just go along with everything." _

_ "How exactly are we supposed to do that?" _

_ "Easy, convince her to throw a second bean to make the portal bigger, which it will. The first bean she'll throw to the ground will create the initial portal for Storybrooke. The one that I will happen to throw into the already formed portal will create a second pathway to Wonderland." _

_ "It won't work because we need the compass to get to Wonderland." _

_ "We will have the compass." _

_ Killian eyed her with curiosity and interest, the same curiosity Alice had shown when she first fell down the hole so long ago. "Please, love, continue." _

_ "Snow will hold onto the compass itself. Now, we only need to be holding onto a small part, so we'll be holding onto its chain. As long as we think of nothing but Wonderland, the chain of the compass will get us there without a problem."_

_ Emma saw in his eyes that the plan was good. "One thing though," she concluded. "I don't know what Wonderland looks like, so you'll have to give me a place in Wonderland to think of." _

_ Killian thought for a moment. "I would tell you to think of the castle, but that would give us away, and so would the village…okay, I want you to think of a field, rolling with hill and grass all over. There are mushrooms, flowers, caterpillars, insects flying, everything you've heard about Wonderland. We'll be starting at the beginning of a dirt path that leads to the Queen's maze. Behind you, there will be a looking glass portal that leads to the room between the realms. When we jump into the realm, hold my hand in case something goes wrong."_

_ Emma recounted and repeated everything that was just said to her. "Okay, are you ready for this?" _

_ Killian smirked, "Love, are you ready?" _

_ She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Always."_

_ He laughed and brought her close and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "How long have you been thinking about this?" _

_ "Ever since I promised I would help you find her." _

_ "This is why I'm not good enough for you." _

_ Emma stood on her tip-toes and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Let's not worry about that right now."_

_ She smiled and took his hand. Together, they made their way to the throne room. _

Emma looked at her surroundings and took a deep breath. Journey number two, she thought to herself. Let's do this.

Killian:

He looked around and saw the world he'd once seen so long ago. It was just like he remembered it; he still hated it. He felt someone grab his hand and jumped at the touch. He was relieved to see Emma standing by his side.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her.

"I'm doing this because I want you to be happy," she said seriously.

He looked forward and saw the path waiting for him.

"You don't seem happy to be here," Emma observed.

"Trust me, I'm not."

"And why is that?"

"Don't worry about it."

He turned around just to make sure that the door was still there, in case he wanted to make a quick escape. This was the one place that made him feel like a coward. He kept thinking back to the last time he had been in Wonderland. If only Alice hadn't taken the blame, he sighed.

Together, he walked with Emma on the path.

"Love, do you have a sword with you?" he looked at her.

"I left the last one in the throne room," she admitted.

"Well, it'd be best if you made or found one because you never know what to expect here."

Emma gave him a weird look. "Is everything alright?"

She squeezed his hand and stood in front of him. "Killian, I'm sorry. If this is too much for you, we can always go back. Really, if you don't want to do this, we don't have to."

"No," he held both her hands and kissed her forehead. "Thank you for doing this. We can finally get Alice back."

Emma gave him a comforting hug before they resumed their walk. Killian admired how the scenery hadn't changed. It was the one thing he loved about Wonderland. Apart from Snow White and Prince Charming's castle, Wonderland was one of the most beautiful places he'd ever been to.

After about twenty minutes of scenic walking, they reached tall, cut shrubs that seemed to form a barrier before them.

"Is this the maze you told me about?" Emma asked, starting to show fear in her voice.

"Yeah," Killian admitted as he held her hand tighter, trying to calm her. "Don't be afraid, love. I'm right here."

"There's no going back once you enter, is there?"

"There is, but the way back is more complicated than the way in."

Together, they entered the maze.

* * *

Jefferson:

They'd made it to the room between the worlds. Henry and Grace stood and admired all of the different doors. He brought them close, knowing they would be too tempted to try one of the doors.

"Daddy, is that the door to Wonderland?" Grace pointed to a glass door that resembled a mirror.

"Yeah," he patted her head. "That's where we're going."  
Excitedly, Grace took Henry's hand and ran to the door. They almost walked through without Jefferson, but he stopped them in time.

"We have to all enter at the same time," he warned them. Hopefully this works, he sighed.

Jefferson held Grace's hand, and Grace took Henry's. Together, they squeezed through the door. Jefferson closed his eyes, hoping that both Henry and Grace made it through.

"Daddy, why are you closing your eyes?" Grace tugged on his hand.

He opened them and gave a sigh of relief; Henry was still there altogether in one piece.

"Are you ready to find your mother, Henry?" he looked at him.  
"Of course I am," he gave Jefferson a courageous smile.

Grace and Henry walked ahead while Jefferson walked behind them. He realized he was still holding both his and Grace's hat in his right hand.

"Grace, put your hat on," he handed her the smaller hat. She happily took it and wore it with pride.

She looks just like her mother, a dagger of pain shot his heart. He still had to find a way to tell both kids that they were rescuing not only Emma, but Killian and Alice too.

They walked on, and he listened while Grace and Henry talked about nothing but Wonderland and their new weapons; the sword and the hat. Jefferson remembered the last time he had been in Wonderland. He'd been left behind by Regina, but thankfully, at the time, she didn't know anything about Alice. He'd been left, trapped by the queen, to make countless hats for the same purpose of his own. It also gave him time to search for Alice because last time, he, along with Killian, had failed.

That bloody bastard, the name brought anger to him. He should've been the one to stay here, not Alice. She should've been the one to take the freedom. He hated Killian just as much as Killian hated him.

But, just like Killian, he hated Wonderland with a burning passion.


	2. Crossroads

Chapter 2: Crossroads

STORYBROOKE

Snow White:

She went back with Charming to the apartment after she watched her own grandson disappear before her own eyes.

"Do you think they'll make it back?" Snow was sitting on the couch with her husband.

"Of course they will," Charming reassured her. "Emma will always find us. Henry will be with her too."

"Do you think _all _of them will make it back?"

"Let's hope so," Charming took Snow's hand as she leaned on his shoulder.

Before she could embrace the fact that her husband was always there to support her, she heard a vicious knock on her door.

"You've got to be kidding me," Snow rolled her eyes in frustration.

Charming kissed her on the forehead before answering the door; Snow followed behind him. He opened the door and saw Aurora and Mulan standing with Regina and Gold.

"What do you think you're doing with them?" Snow stepped in front of Charming.

Regina brought a dagger to Aurora's throat. Snow realized that Regina had used magic on the princess because Aurora wasn't able to speak. "You're going to tell me what you did with my son, or I will kill her."

"I haven't done anything with _Emma's_ son, Regina. Besides, it's none of your business," Snow spat.

"Don't forget that Gold and I have more power than you and your beloved prince."

Snow and Charming looked at each other and smiled. Snow raised brought her hands eye-level and left them there momentarily. Within the next half second, Regina and Gold were out of the apartment.

"Where'd you send them?" Charming laughed.

"I sent them to the forest, I don't know where, but they're in the forest," Snow smiled, satisfied.

She worked her magic and made sure Regina and Gold's magic had been removed from Aurora and Mulan.

"Thank you so much," Aurora rushed up and gave Snow a bear hug. "They just came into the diner and took us without warning!"

"I don't think it's safe enough for us to stay there," Mulan looked at both Charming and Snow. "Do you know anywhere else we could stay?"

"Well…" Snow drifted off.

"You can stay with us," Charming approved. "Snow and I can always find a place for us while you guys are here. We need to make sure Regina and Gold don't do any more harm anyways."

"Are you sure about this?" Snow asked. "We can always just sleep in the living room and they can take both rooms."

"Whatever you prefer, your highness," Charming taunted her, laughing.

She playfully punched him on the shoulder, and then looked over to Aurora and Mulan. "Alright, you two, you can stay with us. Emma has some clothes in her room that you guys can borrow so you're not stuck wearing those outfits all the time."

Mulan and Aurora gave them both hugs then walked off in search of Emma's bedroom.

Making sure they were gone, Charming looked at Snow with a fresh, serious look. "Regina and Gold know you can use magic now. They'll be out for blood."

"I know, but everything will get better when Emma and Henry get back with the rest of the group. And, we have Ruby and a majority of the town on our side," Snow reassured him.

Snow stood on her tip-toes and gave Charming a reassuring kiss. "We'll be just fine."

* * *

WONDERLAND

Emma:

It had been twenty minutes since she entered the maze with Killian and he was still nowhere to be found.

"Killian!" Emma cried out in fear. She tried helplessly to navigate herself through the maze, but she had no success in the end.

She heard a rustling sound and she whipped her head around and saw nothing. She began to walk faster, eventually breaking out in a sprint, weaving through the twists and turns, in fear that someone was following her.


	3. Wonderland's Labyrinth

Chapter 3: Wonderland's Labyrinth

Killian:

Someone else knows we're here, Killian panicked. How is that possible?

He'd been separated from Emma the moment they entered the maze. He'd completely forgotten that the maze had magical qualities of its own. A wall came up from the ground, separating the two of them at the entrance, leaving Killian to find his way to Emma. She'd yell his name once or twice, but she'd never hear him yell back.

What was the trick Jefferson taught me, Killian thought to himself, but nothing came to him. He'd gone in a circle three times, growing frustrated. He stopped and stood still, waiting for Emma to call out his name once more. He waited thirty seconds before she cried out, but this time, it was close by.

"Emma!" he yelled back. He broke out in a sprint, frantically turning every corner, hoping to find Emma. He heard his name again, and he knew she was also moving closer to him. He turned right and ran into someone, falling on impact.

"Killian," Emma said as she was also getting up. "What the hell."

"I forgot to mention," Killian said, rubbing his forehead. "The queen put an enchantment on the maze, so that any trespassers coming in will never get out."

"You're saying we're stuck in this maze?" Emma asked, now standing.

"There's a way out, but we need someone," Killian replied.

"Who?"

"Jefferson."

"Why do we need him?"

"He's the only one that knows the way out of the maze, apart from Alice, Regina, and the Queen of Hearts."

"Well, Jefferson isn't here right now, so can you figure out another way to get us out of here?"

"I don't know that your magic will work on this maze because I'm almost certain the queen's magic is as powerful as Rumplestiltskin's."

Emma was about to speak, but she heard the same rustling noise once more, and Killian heard it this time too.

"Did you hear that?" Emma stepped closer to him.

"Someone knows we're here," Killian brought her closer.

"We didn't tell anyone though," Emma looked up at him, now panicking.

"I know," Killian drew his sword and kept Emma as close as possible. Footsteps were coming now, but Emma was too scared to move. There was more than one pair of footsteps coming their way.

"It must be guards," Killian warned. "Be ready to use magic just in case."

Emma nodded and held tight to his left arm. She turned away, not wanting to see who the attacker was.

"Jefferson?" Killian asked, shocked.

"Mom!" a boy's voice cried with joy.

Emma looked up, recognizing the voice she hadn't heard in so long. "Henry?"

Jefferson:

Jefferson watched as Henry ran and reunited with his mother. If only Grace could do that someday, he thought to himself.

Emma had tears consistently rolling down her face as Henry neglected to let go of her.

"What are you guys doing here?" Emma laughed looking at Henry, Jefferson, and Grace all at once. "How did you know we were even here?"

"Yeah, what the bloody hell are you doing here?" Killian stood there, crossing his arms and glared at Jefferson.

Jefferson didn't want to deal with the pirate at the moment, so he tried to keep his calm. "Snow White told us you'd be here when she and Charming found out you two didn't show up in the forest with them."

"How did she know we would be here?" Emma asked, still wiping the tears from her face.

"Ask him," Jefferson nodded in his direction.

He loved watching Killian get into trouble. "I promise, love, I didn't say a single word."

"How would she know?"

"I…I told her about Alice because she was the only person I could talk to about that subject, until I got the chance to tell you," Killian answered honestly. "I didn't know she even remembered that conversation."

"She sent you here?" Emma looked back at Jefferson.

"Yeah, she wants you to come back with us. And that's exactly what's going to happen, so let's go," Jefferson meant every word he said.

"We're not going back just yet," Killian stepped up to Emma's defense.

"Sorry, Jefferson, but I have to agree with him on this one," Emma took Killian's side.

"We are not staying here," Jefferson demanded.

"You know very well why we're not leaving just yet," Killian said.

"Are you saying he knows?" Emma looked at Killian incredulously.

"He knows a lot more than you think," Killian never took his eyes off Jefferson.

"You also know very well as to why I don't want to stay here," Jefferson challenged Killian.

"We're going to get Alice back, whether you like it or not. It's been too long. Last time we tried, we failed and this time, we won't."

"The queen's too powerful. She stopped us once, she can do it again. Don't forget she's out for both of us."

"Alice doesn't deserve to live in this hell anymore. She's been here too long."

"There's no way we're going to get her back!" Jefferson raised her voice. "I've tried too much, and each time I've failed.

"She's my sister!" Killian responded by also raising his voice.

"There's nothing more to do here. It's all over!"

"You're telling me you'd let your wife die here! You'd leave her just to keep yourself alive? You won't even let my niece meet her mother!"

Dead silence.

"Alice is Grace's mother?" Emma asked, shocked.

"Yes," Jefferson said with pain in his voice.

"Grace has never met her uncle before either," Killian was furious.

"This was all for Grace's sake. Alice and I wanted the best for her."

"And the best for Grace was to neglect her of a mother in her life? That's fucking pitiful Jefferson."

"Killian, you have no say in this," Jefferson hated being wrong.

"I have every say in this. You had so many opportunities to get Alice back from the queen."

"Please, let's just go home before the queen realizes we're here."

"See? You coward. You're just like the crocodile. You give up too easily."  
"You think I give up too easily? Look at you, you had opportunities to search for her, but all you did was run away to Neverland with Milah."

"Don't speak of her."

"You knew very well that Alice would be stuck in Wonderland forever, and all you did was leave, run away."  
"I didn't have a choice, and you know why I didn't come back!"

"You're the reason Alice is still here!" Jefferson knew he'd won the argument.

The entire time, Emma stood back, holding onto Henry, while Grace stood behind his father, looking at him with teary eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, Emma," Killian looked at her. "Let's just go. Jefferson's the only one that can get us out of here anyway."

"After all of that arguing, you two are just going to give up? No, I'm staying. You two can leave, but I'm finding a way out of this maze myself. Take Henry back with you because I don't want anything to happen to him."

"Mom, I'm going to stay here with you!" Henry argued back. "I can protect myself."  
"He sounds just like you," Killian smirked.

"Shut up, not now," Emma snapped.

While Emma, Killian, and Henry were sorting things out, Jefferson looked back at his daughter and scooped her up into his arms. "Sorry, Grace, I didn't want you to see that," he kissed her forehead.

"Dad, who were you talking about?" Grace cocked her head to the side.

"No one you need to worry about," Jefferson smiled to her. "We're going home now."

"But I don't want to go home. It's pretty here," Grace looked deep into his eyes.

First she looks like her mother, now she's acting like her, Jefferson thought, concerned. No, I can't let this happen to my daughter too.

Grace asked another question. "Is mommy here?"

"She's…she's here," Jefferson said slowly.

"Can we go see her?" Grace asked innocently. She didn't realize that it was easier said than done.

"Maybe next time, but not now," Jefferson tried to find a way out of the situation.

He knew Grace wanted to be set down, so he set her back on the ground.

She ran, and she ran fast.

"Grace!" Jefferson cried after her.

Killian noticed and suddenly broke his attention from Emma and Henry. "Grace!"

Emma and Henry dropped their subject and help Killian and Jefferson get Grace back.

Jefferson was searching frantically for her now, considering the magic had done its work in the maze; the path now shifted and formed a new path. "Dammit!"

"Jefferson," Killian caught up to him. "We'll find her."

"You can't run through a castle, but you can run through this type of shit," Emma and Henry caught up, breathless.

"I have no idea how to get her back. This is getting too complicated," Jefferson threw his hands up in frustration.

Suddenly, alarms blared in the distance.

"Jefferson," Killian looked at him urgently. "They know we're here. There's no going back now; they'll see us at the entrance. We have to go into the village."

"Not without Grace," Jefferson looked ahead.

"How do they know we're here?" Henry asked.

Jefferson turned and saw his daughter appear behind Henry. She was no longer wearing her hat, but using both arms to carry it.

"Grace!" Jefferson ran and knelt down to his daughter's height. "Where did you go?"

"I want to see Mom, so I started looking for her," Grace said.

"Okay, we'll find –see her. Just put your hat back on," Jefferson pat her head.

"Hold on," Grace set her hat down and reached into it, pulling out a white rabbit.

"Well, now we know how they found us," Killian scoffed.

"Shut up," Jefferson snapped at him. "She didn't know."

He turned back and let the rabbit loose. Grace cried, "What are you doing?"

"Grace, you can't have the white rabbit because they're dangerous."

He knew Grace was going to ask another question, so he said, "Come on, let's go find Mom."

Grace smiled. Jefferson looked at everyone. "I need to teach my daughter how to do this too."  
He told Grace, "Take your hat off and set it on the ground." He showed her and she followed instruction.

"Now, spin it, just like I taught you," he encouraged her.

She did as she was told, and instantly, a clear path began appearing in the maze. It cut through all of the shrubs and all of the magic and revealed a clear path that led to the village.

Emma, Killian, and Henry smiled with approval.

"If we're going to do this, we need to cooperate and work together Hook," Jefferson gave him a steel look.

"If it means getting Alice back, it works for me," Killian nodded civilly.

"Alright, then. Emma, I need to take Henry with me because in case anything happens the only way back to Storybrooke is through me or Grace," he told her.

"I have magic beans though," Emma said.

"I don't know if magic beans have been allowed again here in Wonderland. If the queen hasn't changed anything, magic beans still have no use here."

Emma looked puzzled, but she didn't disagree. "Henry," she crouched and looked at her son. "Stay safe, and do not separate from Jefferson or Grace."

"I got it," he rolled his eyes. "I have my sword."

"Good, and don't be afraid to use it," Emma ruffled his hair and stood up.

"He takes a lot after you," Killian laughed.

"When we get into the village, we need to split up. Killian and Emma, you go left, I'll go right with the kids. You'll be able to see the castle right away, so just head in that direction. When you get out of the village, there will be two bridges that lead to the entrance. Emma, Killian, meet us there."

"Alright," Emma nodded. "It sounds like a good plan."  
Jefferson noticed that Grace hadn't stopped looking at Killian, but he didn't worry about that now.

"Let's go."

Jefferson picked his hat back up and placed it back on his head; Grace did the same with hers.

The five set off into the heart of Wonderland.


	4. The First Catch

Chapter 4: The First Catch

Emma:

She had just reunited with her son, and here she was, separated from him yet again. She kept hold onto Killian's hand as they entered the village.

"Do you see the castle yet?" Emma asked. "I can't see over all these people."

"Yeah, just keep going straight," Killian kept his hand on her shoulder to guide her.

"Please don't let go of me," Emma was actually scared.

"I'll be right behind you," Killian squeezed her shoulder.

They walked at a fairly rapid pace in hopes of getting out of the village as soon as possible. Emma looked around to see what kind of people were in Wonderland. All these people seem…wealthy, Emma examined. Every woman was wearing some type of "elegant" dress and every man was in some sort of suit. They reminded her of people from the medieval times, yet they had a taste of Wonderland in them. There were carts that sold different merchandise. Houses and cottages were on the outskirts of the village. Everyone seemed to get along, as if there was nothing wrong in the world.

"This is so weird," Emma made conversation as they were walking.

"What's so weird?" Killian asked.

"The people, the carts, just Wonderland in general. People actually get along with each other here."

"They do it for the queen; they all obey her. In reality, they all want to escape and the only way out of Wonderland is through Jefferson or the queen. No one's escaped since…I can't even remember the last time someone made it out of Wonderland."

"You made it out of Wonderland, though."

"Yes, but I was with Jefferson at the time."

"Why didn't you take Alice with you?"

"Ah, that's not something to worry about at the moment, Emma."

"Will I ever know about her?"

"Eventually. But for now, we need to hurry because we can't be noticed, remember?"

Emma realized that the guards were still out to get her, so she nodded and they hurried through the village. They weaved in and out of the crowds, carefully going unnoticed while also looking out for castle guards. They made it through most of the village until Emma noticed them.

"Killian, who are those people?" Emma pointed. They were wearing some sort of black suits and carried swords with them. No guns, Emma asked herself. Oh wait, this is Wonderland.

"Let's go," Killian pulled her in another direction.

Killian:

"Where are we going?" Emma looked at him while they were jogging through the crowd.

"We're still going to the castle, but we're just taking the long way," he reassured her as he kept his eyes forward, now leading the way. He never let go of Emma's hand.

"Who are those people?"

"Those are the queen's body guards."

"They carry swords with them? They couldn't have picked a better weapon?"

"If any part of the blade touches you, you're dead in less than a minute."

"Oh," was all Emma could say.

"Come on, we're almost to the gates."

"How much further?"

"I can see them from here."

Emma and Killian moved faster as they moved closer to the black iron gates that separated the village from the castle grounds. He reached his hand out to grab the gate, but instantly pulled it back.

"Emma, you need to open the gate," he looked at her.

"Can't you open it?"

"Besides the queen and her royal court, no one else can open it besides Jefferson, but you can use magic, so you give it a try."

"Alright then," Emma walked up. She looked at the gate up and down to make sure that there was no catch to it. She stretched her arm out and pushed. The gate opened.

They walked out of the village and onto the castle grounds. Killian looked at the castle and heard Emma gasp in wonder. It was almost as beautiful as her parents' castle. The sun gleamed on the white walls and made them glitter with the sunlight. The roofs were all one shade of red and there was more than one tower –there were about seven, one grand tower in the middle. The windows reflected gold light from the sun's radiant rays. A large, open field of grass was spread out before them with a stone walkway cut before them. It went on for about fifty yards before it split into two. The two separate paths led to two separate bridges. The golden fountain was seen in front of the castle that emphasized the organized courtyard.

"Why are there two bridges?" Emma asked him.

"No one knows," Killian admitted. "It's what the queen wanted.

Emma walked forward, but Killian pulled her back. "Jefferson and the kids aren't here yet."

"Where do we go?"

"We hide, love."

"We're not going back to the village, are we?"  
"Why would we go back, when we can hide in one of these trees?"

Emma turned around and realized that the black gates stretched for miles, and trees were planted on the castle side of the black gate for some reason.

"Why trees?"

"Like I said," Killian chuckled. "It's what the queen wanted."

The only bare part of the gate was the entrance. "Is this the only entrance to the castle grounds?" Emma asked.

"There's one more entrance, and no one knows where it is, except for the queen herself."

"Alright then. So, how do we hide in these trees?"

Killian walked up to a tree on the right side of the gate. Its trunk was a huge ten feet in diameter. He ran his hand down the trunk as if looking for some kind of door. He stopped at the bottom and put his hand in a crack. He pulled up and instantly, the front side of the trunk flew upward.

"What the fuck?" Emma looked impressed and laughed.

"Jefferson and I built this when we were last here."

"How are we supposed to see outside?"

He stepped in and opened some sort of window from the inside. "Jefferson found a way to enchant them, so the person can't tell from the outside that there's a window."

"So, we watch outside until Jefferson, Henry, and Grace come through the gate."

"Pretty much, but it's going to get dark soon, so hopefully it won't take them too long."

Together, they stepped inside of the tree and waited.

* * *

Grace and Henry:

She did as her father instructed and held onto Henry's hand as they walked through the crowd.

"Grace, make sure you keep your hat low enough so your face is barely showing," he told her.

"Henry," Jefferson told him as they entered the village. "Make sure you're ready to draw your sword at any time because you don't know what to expect here. Whatever you do, do not lose sight of me, okay?"

The task was simple enough. Follow Jefferson and keep a low profile.

Grace held tightly onto Henry's hand as she had a fear of being swallowed within the crowd. There are too many people, she thought to herself. She kept taking quick glances in Henry's direction just to make sure he was coping.

"Are you okay?" she'd ask.

"Yeah, just fine," he'd respond.

"Grace, come here," Jefferson said with urgency.

He brought both Grace and Henry in front of him and kept his hands on each of their shoulders. He began walking quickly in a new direction –the same direction as Emma and Killian.

"Dad, where are we going?" Grace looked up at him.

"Grace, Henry, can you see the castle from here?" he looked down at them.

"Yeah," Henry said, staring at it. "Why?"

"If you two get lost, just head in that direction, promise me that."

"Why would we get lost?" Grace asked.

Before Jefferson could say anything, chaos broke out.

"There he is!" one of the guards yelled.

Jefferson looked at the kids again. "Grace, do not lose your hat. Henry, use your sword. Now, go!"

Grace gave her father one last hug before taking off with Henry. She glanced back once more and watched in horror as her father fought, but fell in defeat and was carried away by the guards.

"What are they going to do with him?" Grace asked.

"I don't know, but we have to keep going," Henry urged.

Grace kept up with Henry as they rushed to the gates.

"Henry, there's two guards following us!" Grace cried.

"How'd they find us?"  
"Just keep going!"

They were within two feet of the gate and the guards were right at their heels. Grace ran forward and pulled Henry with her. She lunged and pushed the gate open.

"How'd she open the gate?" one of the guards cried.

Henry and Grace ran through the gate, but turned around. The guards were about to grab them, but Henry drew his sword and stood, ready to fight. He did as his grandfather had taught him. The guard took the first jab with the deadly sword, but Henry deflected it easily. Henry went on the offensive and took his turn. He was too fast for the guard. The second guard stepped in to help his partner but it was no use. Henry's mastery was too developed for such a young age. The sword had a slight ruby red glow as Henry banged the edge of the pommel into the first guard's temple and knocked him to the ground. Henry picked up the guard's sword and faced the second one. Within two swords, he easily beat the second one. The second guard left his left side open and Henry used the second sword to create a wound in the guard's left arm. Little did Henry know that he had just killed someone for the first time.

Henry stood in victory, breathless.

"What do we do now?" Grace looked at him.

"I don't know. I don't my mom or Captain Hook anywhere."

"Grace!" she whirled around and saw Killian and Emma standing there with looks of wonder on their faces.

Henry ran and hugged Emma. "You missed it all mom! I beat those two guards!"

"We saw everything," she laughed. "Where did you learn to do all of that?"

"Charming taught me, and then Snow gave me this sword!"

Emma looked at Henry's sword. She leaned over and whispered something to Killian and his eyes grew wide in surprise, nodding in approval.

"Henry, why don't you get rid of the other sword," Emma suggested as he was still holding the guard's sword.

"Okay," he tossed it to the ground next to him.

Killian knelt down and looked at Grace. "Finally. You look just like your mother."

"Captain Hook, why are you saying that?" she cocked her head to the side.

"Call me Killian, or Uncle," he laughed as he watched Grace's eyes grow wide.

"Captain Hook's my uncle? Henry! Captain Hook's my uncle!"

"That's so cool!" Henry laughed.

"Grace," Emma turned to her. "Do you have any sort of weapon with you?"

"No, my father never gave me one."  
Emma nodded and conjured a dagger and gave it to Grace. She enchanted it, just like Snow had enchanted Henry's sword. There was a blue glow to it and a sapphire in the pommel with a silver grip. It fit her perfectly and Emma created a sheath and attached to Grace's belt.

"There, you're good to go," Emma patted her shoulder.

"Where's Jefferson?" Killian asked aloud.

"He was captured by the guards back in the village," Henry told him. "We need to get him back."

"Okay, we need to split up again. Emma, take Henry, I'll take Grace," Killian gave instructions. "Emma, if they're keeping Jefferson where I think they're keeping him, take the bridge on the right side. There's a side entrance, but you need to walk the wall of the castle for a while before you reach it. I'll take Grace with me on the left bridge and we'll enter from the front of the castle."

Emma nodded in approval. "Are you ready, kid?" she ruffled Henry's hair.

"Always!" Henry said, excited.

Emma looked at Killian with longing eyes, knowing they couldn't do anything in front of Henry and Grace. Emma nodded and took off with Henry.

Killian knelt and looked at Grace. "Whatever happens Grace, do not lose sight of me, okay? Even if you see things in the castle that you like, do not touch anything."

"Can I call you Uncle?" Grace asked smiling.

"Of course," Killian kissed her forehead. "Can you promise me that? Just be careful when we get in the castle. Don't let anything distract you."  
"Okay, I promise," Grace gave Killian her word. "Why can't I touch anything in the castle?"

So curious, just like her mother, Killian thought to himself.

"Don't worry about it right now," Killian told her.

"What are doing though, why are we going to the castle?"

"Grace, that's where your mother is at."  
He took Grace's hand and together, they walked to the left bridge.


	5. The Other One

Chapter 5: The Other One

Emma:

They'd been walking for nearly twenty minutes along the castle's wall, and still, there was no door to be seen.

"How much longer?" Henry droned.

"Henry, it can't be that much further," Emma encouraged him to keep going.

Emma saw from a distance that there was a guard that was standing in front of something.

"That must be it, mom," Henry whispered.

She put her hand on his shoulder and kept him close as they approached. "Henry, wait."

"Why?"

"Watch this," Emma smiled.

She created a sword for herself with her magic. It looked almost like Henry's sword except there was a pearl in the pommel and the grip was platinum. She didn't put an enchantment on her sword. She slipped it into the sheath she created for herself and attached the sheath to her belt.

"Whoa, it's almost like mine!" Henry exclaimed.

"Yep! Now, would you like to take the guard or would you like to get the door for me?"

"I want the guard!"

"Alright, I'll stay back a little bit, just in case you need help."  
"Emma, I can handle this," Henry sounded confident.

Emma hid behind a tall shrub while Henry went in for the attack. He caught the guard by surprise, so Henry's victory was an easy one. Henry's blade grazed the guard's cheek and he fell instantly as Henry's second kill.

"Nice job, kid," Emma praised him.

"Thank you," Henry gave Emma a cheeky smile.

"Alright, let's see what's inside."  
Emma opened the door and let Henry walk in first.

Henry:

Henry realized that all five doors looked the same; in fact, it looked like he was back in the room between the worlds.

"How do we know which door to open?" he asked, looking up at Emma.

"We guess," Emma sighed.

Henry walked forward and started with the door to the furthest right. "Why not try all of them?"

Emma nodded and opened the door, revealing a staircase.

"I'll go first," Henry volunteered.

He felt his mom put her hand on his shoulder as he began his ascend. It took them five minutes before they reached the top. Henry found himself standing in front of a red door. He took a deep breath and tried the knob; it was open. He slowly pushed it inward to reveal the room behind it.

Jefferson wasn't seen in the room, but they'd found the queen's room.

"Mom, look," he tugged on her sleeve. She, too, was dumbfounded.

The room was almost completely blood red. The king sized, black, iron bed was covered in red sheets; the carpet was a regal red that complimented the walls. The desk in the corner was white along with the dresser and the bookshelf. The mirror on the wall next to Henry was placed in a silver frame.

"Who are all these people?" Emma asked aloud.

Almost all of the walls were covered with portraits. They stepped into the room to get a better picture of what they were looking at. There was a portrait of a family hanging above the bed; there was another portrait next to the door on the other side of the room, along with one in the study corner and one next to the mirror. On the bedside table, there were individual frames, all filled.

"Wait a second," Henry pointed to the portrait of the bed. They were now standing at the foot of the bed. "That's –that's."

"Cora," Emma gasped.

"And Regina," Henry wondered how it was possible.

"That must be her father," Emma pointed to the man next to Cora who was also Henry, the miller.

"If that's Regina, and that's her mother, and that's her father…" Henry said slowly.

"Regina has a twin sister," Emma stepped back in disbelief.

"Regina's dad is dead, and Regina is in Storybrooke right now," Henry processed everything.

"And Snow White killed Cora," Emma finished his thoughts with her own, finally dawning on the truth.

"Her sister must be…" Henry's voice trailed.

"The queen of hearts," Emma finished.

Regina's twin sister had a striking resemblance, identical almost. Her hair was a little bit lighter, but she had the same eye color and the same facial structure; they had the same smile, yet, in some ways, the queen had more of an elegance, as if she were fit to be a queen. Henry looked at the pictures on her bedside table. He picked up a golden frame that contained the picture of a handsome man. If fact, he was too handsome; his face was almost perfect. His hair was a chestnut brown with stormy gray eyes and his nose was neither too big nor too small, it was perfect. His smile could've been seen for twenty thousand leagues. His face resembled a god's face.

"This must be the king," Henry said.

Emma looked down and smirked.

"What's so funny, mom?" Henry asked.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," she pat his head. Henry didn't know that Emma had thought of Killian when she saw the picture.

"Come on, let's go before someone sees us in here," Emma guided Henry out of the room and back downstairs.

Emma:

Holy fuck there's another one, Emma panicked as she led Henry back to the main room. I can't believe Killian didn't tell me before.

"I can't believe Regina has a twin sister," Henry shook his head.

"Trust me, neither can I," Emma sighed.

"I think her sister is prettier," Henry laughed.

"Let's not think about that now," Emma smiled.

They tried the next door. It opened to yet another staircase, but this one was different.

"Why are there hats all over the floor?" Henry asked.

"I believe we've found Jefferson," Emma said. Henry took off running up the stairs with Emma following behind him.

They stood for a moment and caught their breaths. Both of them looked up and saw an old, worn wooden door. Emma pushed it open and let Henry sneak past her. They stood in a room full of shelves that were covered with hats, all sorts of hats. Emma looked to her left and saw Jefferson sitting at a desk that was covered with unfinished hats. Thankfully, Jefferson still had his hat from Storybrooke.

"Jefferson?" Henry asked quietly.

His head shot up and he looked at them. "How'd you find me?"

"Killian gave us instructions on how to get here," Emma said slowly.

"Killian…does he have Grace with him? Where's Grace?"

"Relax, they went a separate way to look for Alice," Henry said.

"Alice…her heart…we need to get her heart."  
"What are you talking about?" Emma was a little concerned.

"We need to get Alice's heart. Lila (the "Li" sounds like "lie") took it from her."

"Who's Lila?" Henry asked.

"The queen. She took Alice's heart as punishment. It's why she can't leave Wonderland. We need to get her heart and then we need to find Hook, Grace, and Alice," Jefferson was speaking urgently.

"Alright," Emma was trying to process what was just said. "Let's go."

"Right," Jefferson stood and walked briskly to the door, and Emma and Henry followed.

"Where are we going?" Henry asked when they reached the room downstairs.

"The queen's bedroom of course. We've got to start somewhere," Jefferson replied to Henry.

They made their way back up to Lila's room.


	6. Lila

Chapter 6: Lila

Lila:

_"Mom, like this?" Lila looked eagerly as she ripped the heart out of the horse._

_ "That's exactly how you do it," Cora smiled and clapped her hands excitedly._

_ "Stop it!" Regina cried. "Don't kill it!" _

_ Lila was always the one favored because she never realized the things she did; she did everything to please her mother, while Regina understood what was right and wrong._

_ "Regina, why can't you be like your sister?" Cora looked at her. "She understands the power of magic."_

_ "Mom, watch!" Lila's hands were too small for the heart, but she nonetheless used both hands to crush the heart altogether. Instantly, the horse crumbled to the ground._

_ "You just let her kill my horse!" Regina was bawling. "I'm telling father!" _

_ Regina ran back to the manor while Lila stayed out in the stables with Cora._

_ "Mom, why is Regina sad? I only did what you asked," Lila looked at her mother._

_ "You did absolutely nothing wrong," Cora stroked her cheek. _

_ "Okay," she smiled and wandered back to their manor. Lila kept walking, but when she reached the front door, she saw a strange man waiting._

_ "Who are you?" Lila put her hands on her hips._

_ "Rumplestiltskin, at your service," he bowed to the child._

_ "Rumplestiltskin, what are you doing here?" Lila folded her arms over her chest._

_ "Well, Regina, it seems I'm paying your mother and father a visit, but my plans have changed," he eyed her._

_ "Regina's -," she began._

_ "Regina's her name," Lila looked behind Rumplestiltskin and saw her father. "And, Rumplestiltskin, I believe you are supposed to be somewhere else right now."  
"I'd like to speak to Cora," he said bitterly._

_ "You needed me?" Cora appeared behind Lila. _

_ "You haven't met your end of the deal," Rumplestiltskin smiled._

_ "Regina," Lila's father looked down at her. "Why don't you go inside?"_

_ Lila took one last look and went inside._

* * *

Emma:

"You're saying that Rumplestiltskin has no idea that Regina has a twin sister," Emma said to Jefferson as they searched the room for Alice's heart.

"Exactly," Jefferson said as he checked behind every portrait.

"What deal are you talking about?" Henry asked.

"Well, you see, Cora was the daughter of a miller," Jefferson began.

"Okay, don't tell me Cora was the maiden who had to spin all that gold for that one king," Emma scoffed.

"How'd you know?" Jefferson asked.

"Remember, you guys are all supposed to be fairy tales in my world," Emma reminded him.

"Okay, well yes, Cora was the maiden. Henry was the prince she married."

"So Regina and Lila actually do come from royalty?"

"Technically, yes," Jefferson nodded.

"What do you mean by technically?" Henry searched the drawers of the desk.

"Henry and Cora were banished when the king found out that Rumplestiltskin spun the gold."

"Well there's a plot twister," Emma smirked. "In the normal version, Rumplestiltskin dies."  
"We all wished that had happened," Jefferson sighed.

"Okay," Emma nodded, "so, what happens now? Regina is the very first first-born that's promised to Rumplestiltskin?"

"Another spoiler alert, Rumplestiltskin actually finds out that there's a twin. He also knows that Lila is more powerful than Cora."

"Is that why Lila was more favored over Regina?"

"Kind of, yeah."

* * *

Lila:

_"Rumplestiltskin knows about the two of us," Lila ran into their bedroom, panicking._

_ "What do you mean he knows?" Regina asked, her eyes growing wide._

_ "Mom let it slip that she has two kids. Dad's still outside, but we need to get him out of here," Lila started scrambling for things around the room._

_ "Wait…why are you leaving?" Regina stood._

_ "Well...Mom still plans on completing the deal and Rumplestiltskin said he doesn't care which one of us he gets."_

_ "You're running away with Dad, and you're leaving me with mom? You're sacrificing my life just to make sure you're safe?" _

_ "I don't know what he plans on doing with either of us, but he said that if the deal isn't finished, then he'll kill Dad."  
Regina stood still. "Why can't I leave? You have more power than I do, so you can actually beat Rumplestiltskin."_

_ "I know, but I'm also the more favored one, Regina, so mom and dad will care more about my safety. Besides, I don't have anyone to love. You have Daniel; you have someone you care about."_

_ "I can take Daniel with me," Regina was now livid, considering the fact that her sister just degraded her. "I can take Dad with me too…why can't we just leave together? We can leave Mom to deal with Rumplestiltskin."_

_ "I already told you, Mom promised one of us to him and she told him that we'd be here." _

_ "You're treating me as if I'm some useless piece of shit!"_

_ "That's because you are! You're not going to survive in the world if you don't know how to properly use magic!" _

_ "What does magic have anything to do with this?"_

_ "Magic has everything to do with this. Rumplestiltskin will probably find a way to take our magic away, and you have to sacrifice the weakling first, you know."  
"You're just like Mom," Regina spit the words from her mouth. "You don't care about anything or anyone but yourself."_

_ "You're just like Dad, you want everyone to be happy. And, guess what, life sucks. Not everyone can be happy."_

_ "Just leave."_

_ "If it makes you feel any better, once I leave, you can find a way to become queen of Fairytale Land with Daniel. King Leopold's wife died recently."_

_ "What? How'd that happen?"_

_ "I killed her. I was originally going to find a way to the throne for myself, but now that I'm leaving, I'll leave that to you."_

_ "How…how will Daniel fit into this if the king is still alive?" _

_ "Kill him. Take over the throne and adopt their only daughter." _

_ "I…how will I escape from Rumplestiltskin?"_

_ "Easy," Lila walked over and reached into Regina's chest. She ripped her heart out. "I'll keep this with me just in case he tries anything."_

_ "But now you have control of me," Regina looked at her._

_ "I'm your sister, I wouldn't kill you," Lila said to her. "I may be leaving you with Mom, but that doesn't mean I'll stop caring for you, Regina. I know I just blew you off, but it's what's best. He'll be out for both of us, so we can't be together."_

_ "Will we ever see each other again?" _

_ "Hopefully." _

_ "I still hate you."_

_ "I still love you."_

_ Lila gave Regina a hug and went away._

* * *

Emma:

"I don't understand," she paused. "Regina could've easily left with Lila."

"Lila's just like her mother," Jefferson said. "She's a quick thinker. She knew Wonderland existed, so she thought of coming here. She knew Regina was weaker than her and she knew that she wouldn't survive if she left Fairytale Land."

"But, Regina's just like her mother now."

"I know. Some of it's confusing. Pretty much, after Rumplestiltskin found out, Lila made the split decision to leave for Wonderland. She was right in leaving Regina with Daniel. She was right in not taking Cora with her."

"Does she still have Regina's heart?"

"Of course she does."

"Let me get this straight: Rumplestiltskin found out about Lila and Regina."

"Yes."

"Lila found out first, so she had the advantage to leave."

"Yes."

"This was all before Daniel died."

"Yes."

"And, Lila killed my grandmother."

"More or less, yes."

"And she left Regina because she had Daniel, and so that she could take over the throne."

"Yes."

"I feel like something's missing still…why didn't she take Cora with her instead?"

"Like I said, Lila cared for Regina; she's the older of the two. She knew Regina was vulnerable, so she left Cora with her. With Cora caring for her, Regina could become just like Lila."

"That's scary."

"I know right."

"How'd she become queen?" Henry asked, now sitting on the bed.

"She met someone and she fell in love, of course."

"Who'd she fall in love with?"

"There was a lord here when she came; no official ruler of Wonderland, but this lord for some reason had supreme power. She came, he saw, they fell in love, they got married."

"Okay, who was the lord?"

"His name was William, no one special."

"Oh," Henry nodded.

"Well, there's no heart here, Jefferson," Emma said. "Is there anywhere else we can look?"

"There's always the queen's chamber of hearts."

"Alright then, where is it at?"

"The secret entrance is behind the king and queen's throne."

"Okay, let's go then."

The group hastily made their way out of the room.


	7. At First Sight

Chapter 7: At First Sight

Killian:

They reached the front of the castle, but saw another mass crowd of people.

"What the fuck is going on," Killian stood on his tip-toes to get a better look. The crowd consisted of all the high end citizens of Wonderland, the ones that lived in the "suburbs" on the castle grounds.

Killian knew he couldn't ask anyone what was going on or else someone might recognize him. He looked around desperately for a path to the castle's main entrance, but it seemed as if the crowd flooded into the castle itself.

He felt Grace tug on his hand. "Uncle, I know how we can get inside."  
"And how is that?" he crouched down.

She guided him back to the end of the bridge so that they were in an open area. "There's a small space inside the castle's front hall, where the trial is happening."

"How do you know all of this?"

"My hat showed me," she smiled.

Killian nodded as if there were no other solution to the problem. "Alright then, let's have a go."

Killian watched with curiosity as Grace removed her hat and placed it on the ground. She spun it so that a portal could be created. Red smoke began appearing as a portal formed.

"Hurry, Uncle, so they won't see us!" Grace exclaimed.

Killian nodded and took her hand. Together they jumped.

Grace:

She felt her feet make contact with solid ground. She opened her eyes and found herself in the space she imagined. They were in a hidden corner that was in the far left back corner of the entrance room –this room also happened to be the throne room. She looked over and saw Killian.

"We made it!" Grace cried over the voices of the crowd.

"Right, and now we can't see anything," Killian looked up and tried to find a way to get a view of what was going on.

She reached up as far as she could and dragged Killian down to her height.

"What the hell," Killian didn't anticipate the move.

Grace clambered onto him and sat on his shoulders. He understood what her intentions were and stood up. "What can you see?"

"There's a lady that's sitting in a throne. She's really pretty," Grace reported.

"Anything else?" Killian had to yell just to make sure she could hear.

"There's a trial going on. That's why there are so many people here. It's for some lady," Grace told him.

He wound his way along the wall so Grace could get a better look. She squinted her eyes and tried to make out the woman that was cuffed and facing the queen. She watched as a guard pushed her forward, making her fall on her knees. She lifted her face looked around her. She scanned the room, as if there would be people she knew. She turned her head and looked to the left of the room and the first person she saw was Grace. Her eyes grew wide and she tried to get up, but the guard forced her down once more. She tried so much not to look at the little girl.

Her face was bruised and beat with cuts all over, but the beauty still radiated from her eyes; her body looked the same. Underneath the wounds, anyone could see the real person. Her long-sleeved blue dress looked soiled and used up too much. It was torn at the bottom and there were stains all over.

"She's beautiful," Grace gasped.

"Who?" Killian looked up at her.

Suddenly, the noise in the room disappeared.

"The trial is for her," Grace whispered quietly enough so that only Killian could hear.

Killian realized who the trial was for. "There's no way."

"Alice," the queen's regal voice boomed through the room. "You have been brought here for your final trial. It is evident that at your previous two trials, you have been given time to live longer, but alas, your time has run out."

"I didn't kill him," Grace heard the fragile voice come from the woman.

"You killed my husband. You were the only one there when it happened," Lila looked down at her. "The only other witnesses are gone now."

"I didn't kill him," Alice said once more.

The queen stood from her throne and stormed to Alice. "Who else is there to blame? You were the only one that didn't escape. If the other two were here, they'd be in the same boat as you right now."

Alice cried out, "You're blaming me for something I never did! You're blaming me because you have no proof at all!"

The queen struck her across the face; the sound vibrated throughout the room. Grace didn't know the woman, but she had pity. She doesn't deserve this; Grace felt a hot tear roll down her cheek. Killian was tempted to run and save Alice, but he knew it would be no use.

"You liar! You were the one holding the sword! William was lying at your feet, dead! If it weren't for you, Wonderland wouldn't be the way it is today!" Lila struck her once more. "You already have your heart gone, be thankful your family isn't here to see this."

Alice gave Lila a good, hard glare, and then smiled. Grace watched as the woman's left hand slipped and reached for something in her right sleeve. What is she doing, Grace wondered to herself.

Alice disappeared.

The crowd gasped and the queen whirled around to see that her prisoner was gone.

"Fools!" the queen yelled in fury to every single guard in the room. "You didn't take her mirror away from her!"

"We didn't know she had it with her," one of the guards spoke.

The crowd was restless and desperate.

The queen waved her hand and instantly the room was silent. "Court dismissed. We will resume this tomorrow. It's getting late."

Grace had just realized that it was already evening. She felt Killian take her off his shoulders.

"Grace, what did the woman look like?" Killian asked as he guided her towards a door.

"She…her hair was golden, and she was wearing a blue dress. Her eyes, they were deep blue…just like yours."

"Alright then," Killian picked her up and carried her in his arms. Grace watched with curiosity as Killian opened a door and began climbing a hidden staircase.

Killian:

Oh my god, Killian panicked to himself, Alice is going to be sentenced to death.

He didn't get a chance to see his sister, but Grace just saw her mother for the first time. She didn't even know it was her mother.

"Uncle," Grace asked him, while looking ahead at the winding staircase. "Where are we going?"

"That lady you saw, we're visiting her right now," Killian told her.

"Why is the staircase so long?"

"Her room is in the highest tower of the castle."

"We still have a long way to go, don't we?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Grace squirmed out of Killian's arms and situated herself on the stairs. She took off her hat and placed it on a step.

"Grace, it won't work," Killian tried telling her.

"It doesn't hurt to try, does it?" Grace looked at him with pleading eyes. "What does it look like at the end of this staircase?"

"It's a mirror," Killian said.

He watched as his niece worked her magic. Please let this work, Killian prayed. He watched as a blue portal began forming from Grace's hat. He felt her grab his wrist, and then she dragged him into the portal.

He opened his eyes and found himself standing, holding onto Grace's hand. She picked up her hat and wore it on her head once more. Killian turned and found himself standing at the top of the staircase, facing a giant mirror.

"Why are we standing in front of a mirror?" Grace asked.

"It's a door," he sighed, "but, I have no idea how we're going to get into the main room of the tower."

"What do you mean? Can't you just open it like a normal door?"

"The only people that can enter the room are Jefferson, the queen, and Alice."

"How exactly are we supposed to get into the room?"

"You have to walk through the mirror. I've never tried, so if this works, I don't know what to expect on the other side of this mirror."

He watched as Grace looked up and down at the mirror. She took his hand and walked forward. Killian closed his eyes as he felt his body pass through the mirror. I can't believe she did it, Killian thought to himself.

He was too afraid to open his eyes in fear that something worse would be waiting for them.

"Uncle, why are there so many mirrors?" Grace tugged at his arm.

He slowly opened his eyes and almost jumped at the sight.

"How do we know which mirror is the door to the lady's room? There's too many."

"I don't know, to be honest," Killian admitted.

The walls were lined with them, the floors, the windows were mirrors; not an open space was seen. Everywhere they looked, they saw themselves.

Killian and Grace were standing in a room of mirrors.


	8. Family Matters

Chapter 8: Family Matters

Grace:

She looked around carefully and tried to find anything out of the ordinary. She looked down at the mirrors at her feet, and found nothing but her own reflection. She walked to the walls and ran her hand along the mirrors, searching for anything.

"Grace," she heard Killian, "what are you doing?"

"I looking for anything out of the ordinary," she was too concentrated.

There has to be something, Grace told to herself. She had almost made a complete circle by the time she reached the northern wall. She was three quarters of the way down, when she stopped suddenly. She stopped in front of a mirror that had a little bit of a tint to it. She looked into it, and she didn't find herself staring at her own reflection; instead, she was staring at a hidden staircase.

"Uncle, look," Grace called over to him.

She heard him rush from behind. "Do you see the staircase?"

"Grace," Killian looked at his reflection, "what staircase are you talking about?"

"There's no mirror here," she urged. "It's the door to the lady's room."  
She didn't know how to convince him anymore, so she took his hand and guided him forward with her. She went straight through the mirror; she felt Killian tense when they passed through.

"See, I told you there was a staircase here," she looked at him, even though his eyes were closed. "Open your eyes."

Killian slowly opened his eyes and saw that they were standing in front of a short staircase. The staircase consisted of about a dozen steps, and the door was within sight; this time, it was a real door.

"Is she up there?" Grace asked, suddenly nervous.

"Yeah," Killian told her.

She swallowed and only held his hand tighter, afraid to let go. For some reason, she felt as if she'd already met the woman. She seemed so familiar. It was as if they were related.

"Are you ready?" Killian asked her.

"No," she admitted, but they went up anyway.

Grace reached the top first of stopped short of the door. Killian went forward and turned the knob slowly. She held her breath as he pushed the door open. They stood watching at it swung inside; Grace hid behind him as the room came into view.

Killian:

He looked into the room. Nothing changed. The mattress was still in the corner of the room; the chopped tree stump was still placed next to the mattress, serving as Alice's desk. The rug was still stained and the old wooden bench was still sitting at the other end of the wall. The walls were still poorly painted and worn with age with the blood red color. He led Grace into the room, but she still hid behind him.

"Is this where she lives?" Grace asked.

"This is where she's lived for the past almost…I don't even know anymore," Killian admitted.

"It's been more than fifty years, Killian, even I've lost count," a fragile voice came from the second room –which happened to be the bathroom.

Killian turned to his left and saw her standing there, with her tattered blue dress that was too overused. "Alice."

He let go of Grace's hand and rushed forward, with arms open. Alice surged and ran into his arms giving him an overdue hug. Tears were streaming down Killian's face, as was Alice's.

"You found me again," Alice said through her tears.

"I never thought I'd find you again," Killian whispered.

She took his face in her hands and looked him in the eyes. "Killian, is Jefferson with you?"

"Yes," he nodded, smiling, "but, I think it's about time you saw your daughter again."

Alice looked behind him and saw the person she treasured the most.

Alice:

"Grace?" her voice quivered. Killian stepped to the side so that Grace could get a full view of Alice. "You were too young when you were taken away. I'm your mother."

Alice waited as Grace took in the information. Grace walked forward slowly and gazed into her mother's eyes. Alice walked forward and met her halfway. She crouched down to her daughter's height and placed a hand on either side of Grace's face. She felt Grace's touch on her hands and smiled as tears streamed down her face. Grace returned the smile and fell into her mother's arms. She held her daughter tight, in fear of losing her once more.

"I missed you so much," Alice sobbed.

"I love you, Mom," Grace said quietly, but loud enough for both Killian and Alice to hear; it only made Alice cry even more.

Alice pulled back and placed her daughter's face back into her hands. She wiped the tears from her own face and Grace's, laughing out of pure joy. She was finally able to see and hold her daughter once more. There was a striking resemblance between the two. Alice's hair was just like Grace's in the youth before it turned to a golden blonde; Grace had her mother's looks and curiosity, but her father's power and attitude. Grace's laugh, her voice, her smile, everything was Alice's.

Alice kissed her forehead and told her, "I promise, I will never lose you again."

"Is this where you live, Mom?" Grace asked innocently.

She laughed, "Yeah, it is."

She hugged Grace, but looked up at Killian. "Where is Jefferson?"

"He's with Emma and Henry," Killian told her. "She's…the queen's daughter?"

"Lila's or Regina's daughter?" Alice asked with concern.

"No, I didn't mean those queens. I meant Snow White and Prince Charming."

"Oh," Alice said in surprise. "Do you know where they are right now?"

"Before we separated," Killian said slowly, "we agreed that I'd find you and she'd find Jefferson."

"How did you manage to get to my room, let alone to the staircase?"

"I thought that, aside from the queen, your mirror was the only thing that worked within the castle grounds. Apparently, Grace's hat works too."

"Jefferson taught her already how to portal jump?" Alice brought Grace into her lap.

"Alice, Grace made the hat on her own."

Alice looked at her daughter, impressed. She noticed the circles under her eyes. "You haven't slept much, have you?"

"No," Grace yawned.

Alice picked her up and placed her on the worn mattress in the corner of the room. She kissed Grace's forehead and brushed her hair out of her face. "Go to sleep for now."

Grace had realized how tired she was and instantly fell asleep.

Alice walked over to Killian. "Tell me everything that's happened. How'd you manage to get back to Wonderland?"

"I was stuck in Fairytale Land for a very long time; I returned when I came back from Neverland. Cora was there, and she found me, so I had no other choice but to work for her. I was there for twenty-eight years, hoping to find a way to Rumplestiltskin, but no opportunity came…until…"

"Until what, Killian?" Alice was so curious that she didn't let Killian stop explaining.

"Emma came to the land, with her mother. She was the savior that broke the curse set by Regina. We found a way to get back to her land, a land called Storybrooke, and Snow White killed Cora," Hook finished explain the story with the details.

"Cora may be gone, but her daughters are still around," Alice sighed. "Have you been spotted by Lila yet?"

"No, but we watched the trial earlier."

"How do you plan on getting back to the other world? You know I'm bound to Wonderland for eternity."

"That's why we came. We're here to take you back with us to Storybrooke."

Alice silenced and looked at him. "Killian, you know what happened last time you and Jefferson tried to take me away from Wonderland."

"I know, but this time, we'll win. You have your mirror and your family back. Emma can use magic and she has magic beans with her. It will work this time."

She spoke quietly. "Killian, the queen plans to kill me in less than twenty four hours. How are we going to accomplish this in twenty-four hours? We still have to find my heart."

Killian's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean 'find your heart'?"

Alice looked at the ground. "Jefferson came back again; I suppose you were in Neverland. He came back for the second trial, and luckily, the queen never saw him. But, as punishment for the second trial, the queen took my heart. It's somewhere in her vault now."

Killian backed away slowly in disbelief. "No…it's not possible."

He reached his right hand into her chest, in hopes of finding a heart. He pulled his hand from her chest, but no heart came out.

"Alice, we need to go," Killian urged, discovering that she was telling the truth. "Change your clothes and wake Grace."

"Killian, you can't be serious. There's no way we're getting my heart back in time. The only known entrance is behind the queen's throne."

"Then, there's no hurt in trying, Alice."

Alice gave Killian one hard look, and then turned to the mattress. She knelt down and slightly tapped Grace's shoulder. "Grace," she whispered, "wake up, love."

Grace stirred and her eyes slowly opened. "How long have I been sleeping for?"

"It's been about twenty minutes," Alice said, kissing her forehead. "I'm sorry, I had to wake you, but it's time to go home."

"This is home, though, Mom," Grace looked at her with sad eyes.

Alice fought the tears, "Well, we're going to our new home then."

"We're going back to Storybrooke?"

"I believe so."

Grace smiled and sat up. "Are we going to find Dad first?"

"Of course we are."

Alice got her mirror from her dresser and slipped it up one of her sleeves. She found her overused black shoes and slipped them on.

"Alice," Killian turned to her, "I thought I told you to change."

"You haven't changed one bit, always taking charge, Killian," Alice laughed. "I don't have any other clothes except for a night gown."

"Well, we'll have to ask Emma to give you some clothes when we see her."

Grace reached and felt the top of her head just to make sure her hat was still there. Alice took one last look around the room. Here we go again, she said to herself.

She took hold of Grace's hand and followed Killian out of the room.


	9. The Second Catch

Chapter 9: The Second Catch

Emma:

She looked around the hallway as they continued forward.

"Who are all of these people?" she asked, examining each portrait.

"These were the past rulers of Wonderland, before Lila came and took over," Jefferson explained. "These were the honest rulers, before Wonderland went all…bad."

"How long has Lila been queen here?" Henry asked.

"Time's been frozen here, ever since she became queen," Jefferson told him. "No one knows why, either."

"So," Emma said, seeing their exit, "it's almost like Neverland here."

"I guess you could say that. I only assume that the queen placed the spell because she wanted to be the ruler here forever, but I could be wrong."

Emma nodded and continued to follow behind Jefferson and Henry. They walked on for another minute or so before halting in front of the door.

"I don't know if there are still people in the room," Jefferson turned around and looked at Emma and Henry, "but when we get into the room, the entrance to the chambers will be to the right side. If there are people, just…try not go get caught."

"Alright," Emma nodded.

Jefferson opened the door to find the room empty. Emma smiled as she placed a hand on Henry's shoulder. Emma watched as Jefferson turned and put a finger to his lips, signaling absolute silenced. Emma and Henry nodded and followed closely behind him. She looked around in wonder as she found herself in a massive entrance and throne room. It wasn't as grand as her parents' throne room, but the sight made quite a statement. Everything was black, white, or blood red; she felt small in the room, as if she weren't worthy enough to even be in it. There was a regal presence that filled the air.

"Is it always this intimidating in this room?" Henry whispered, thinking the same way as Emma.

"Trust me," Jefferson smiled, "it's a lot worse when the queen is actually here."

They reached a space behind the thrones. There was a black rug that was placed below their feet.

"Where's the entrance?" Emma asked, louder than she intended.

"Right here," Jefferson said, focused on the black rug. He bent over and called Emma and Henry over. He instructed them to grab a hold of the rug and pull it. Slowly, but surely, a trap door was revealed.

"There's no other entrance?" Emma asked.

"There is," Jefferson began to unlock the trapdoor, "but that one's a lot more complicated to get through because the only person allowed to use the other one is the queen."

The trapdoor opened all the way and revealed a solid gold staircase that descended into a dimly lit room. Jefferson began the descent, followed by Henry, and Emma bringing up the rear. She turned around and gingerly pulled the door closed over her, in fear that someone had heard them.

They reached the bottom; Emma found herself looking at a chamber, bigger than the throne room. The outside walls of the chamber were filled with chambers; there were endless rows full of shelves. Not a single empty space was seen on these shelves.

"What the hell," Emma said under her breath, but Jefferson heard.

"Welcome to Lila's Atrium," Jefferson said coolly, "otherwise known as her chamber of hearts."

"How many are there," Emma felt Henry edge closer to her.

"There's so many that Lila lost count. Her collection, though, makes her mother's and Regina's collections look pathetic, like shit."

"You got that right," Emma scoffed. "How are we going to find Alice's heart within all of this?"

"I honestly have no idea," Jefferson admitted. "Do you guys want to split up?"

"No way," Henry said. "I'm not getting lost in this thing."

"Alright then," Jefferson nodded. "Let's get started then."

They started on the furthest left wall and began their search.

Henry:

The difference between Lila's vault and Regina's is that Lila took the time to label each heart. Henry was too short to see what Emma and Jefferson were reading, so he kept to the lower parts of the shelf. Alice's name hadn't popped up anywhere. The group had almost given hope after going through about a dozen shelves, front and back.

"There's no use," Henry said. "There's too many hearts in here."

"No," Jefferson said. "I haven't come this far for nothing."

They reach the center of the Atrium and found themselves standing in front of a mini vault with no windows.

"What the fuck is that?" Emma asked.

"There's probably more hearts in there," Jefferson observed.

"I bet you guys ten dollars that Alice's heart is in there," Henry said as he walked forward to try the latch. "It's locked."

Emma walked and tried the latch by using magic; to her surprise, it worked. Jefferson followed the two of them into the room. It was just like the vault on the outside, except this vault had only five hearts, each one placed in a glass container. Henry eagerly walked forward and looked for the one that had Alice's name.

"Here's her heart!" Henry exclaimed, standing in front of the container on the far left. Jefferson came and looked.

"Hey, Emma," Jefferson called, seeing that Emma was reading the names, "come look at this."

"Just a sec," Emma said.

"I can't believe we actually found it," Henry looked up, smiling.

"Yeah, I can't believe it either," Jefferson laughed.

Emma came over and saw. She tried lifting the glass, but nothing worked. She used her magic once more, and to her surprise, again, the glass lifted and Jefferson took the heart, hiding it in his coat pocket.

They closed the vault door behind them when the alarms sounded.

"Oh shit," Emma said, looking around to see if any of the guards had come.

"Run," Jefferson prompted.

Emma ran in the lead, with Henry following, and Jefferson in the back, towards the direction they came from. They wound their way through the shelves until they came back to the grand stair case.

"I'll go first, just to make sure everything's safe," Emma turned and told them as they climbed the stairs.

Henry watched as Emma slowly opened the trapdoor and checked. She bent back down and gave a thumbs up, but before they could do anything, Henry watched as a gloved hand was placed over Emma's mouth. He tried to run forward, but Jefferson held him back.

"No, Henry," Jefferson held him back. "We need to find the other exit."

Jefferson:

They just took Emma, Jefferson panicked. She's going to die because of me.

"Where are they taking her?" Henry asked, with a pleading look in his eyes.

"I don't know, but once we get out of here, we'll find her right away," Jefferson told him. "The faster we find the exit, the faster we'll find Emma."

They past the mini vault again and patiently made their way to what seemed like the back of the atrium. Jefferson tried to use process of elimination. The two entrances can't be right next to each other, so the queen had to put them as far away as possible from each other.

There were no signs of a passage or some type of door anywhere. Henry seemed just as determined as Jefferson.

"Jefferson, why don't we try using your hat," Henry suggested.

"I thought I told you my hat doesn't work here."

"When was the last time you came here?"

"Well…good point."

Jefferson placed his hat down on the floor space in front of them and spun it. Nothing happened after thirty seconds, so he bent down to pick it up, but Henry stopped him.

"Let me try," Henry looked at him.

"You don't even know how to use it," Jefferson said.

"It doesn't hurt to try," Henry said evenly.

Henry walked forward and did the exact same thing Jefferson did; he spun the hat. Nothing happened after fifteen seconds.

"It's no use," Jefferson sighed.

"Wait!" Henry grabbed his arm and pointed. Clouds of red began to appear from the hat. Slowly, a faint portal began to emerge from the hat. Jefferson imagined his room and kept his focus on that. He quickly grabbed Henry's hand and pulled him into the portal.

Jefferson felt a weird sensation going through his body as they moved through the portal. It began as something strange, but quickly turned into a burning fire. It felt like someone was ripping a dagger through his gut, he was running out of breath. He opened his eyes to figure out what was going on, but they were still surrounded by swirls of red.

He felt something –someone –tugging at his arm, but no one was there. Finally, he landed with Henry in the middle of his room. He closed his eyes and winced as the pain throbbed in his gut. Henry stood and saw the blood seeping through Jefferson's shirt.

"What happened?" Henry exclaimed. Jefferson felt Henry ripped the item from his gut and cried out in pain.

"Wait," Henry began as he examined the dagger, "what's this doing here? This is Grace's dagger."

"What?" Jefferson struggled as his vision was getting hazy. He sat down on the floor, but looked up at Henry. "What are you talking about?"

"Dad?" Jefferson and Henry whipped their heads and saw Grace. "What happened?"

"Did you guys try making a portal at the same time?" Henry asked.

"Mom told me to make a portal that led here, so that's exactly what I did," Grace looked over at Killian and Alice, who were getting up.

Jefferson slowly raised his head and saw Alice. His vision was fading and his hearing was leaving him.

"Jefferson!" Alice cried. The last thing Jefferson felt was the feeling of his wife's arms wrapped around him, he barely felt her tears fall onto his face.

Alice:

"What happened?" Alice struggled through her tears.

"I made a portal like you told me to," Grace walked over and innocently told her mother.

"I know, but how did your dagger end up on your father?"

"It must've fallen out of the sheath while we were going through the portal," Killian suggested.

"Is he still alive?" Henry asked.

"Barely," Killian checked his pulse. "Emma, do you think you could –where's Emma?"

"She's been captured," Henry said. "I don't know where they took her."

"How'd she get captured?" Killian said, suddenly furious.

"We were in the queen's atrium, getting Alice's heart. Then on our way back, she went first to make sure it was safe to go, but she got captured in the process."

"You -," Alice stammered. "You have my heart?"

Henry nodded. "It's inside of one of Jefferson's coat pockets."

Alice gingerly reached and felt inside of the pockets until she found her heart. "Killian," she looked up and smiled, "they found my heart."

"Quick, let me see it," Killian reached and Alice gave him the heart. He finished the process and placed the heart back within his sister.

"Now that that's done," Killian said, "how are we going to get Jefferson to wake up again?"

"I don't know," Alice wiped away her tears. "He's losing too much blood."

"Where are we going now?" Grace asked.

"Take us to the entrance of the castle," Alice instructed to her daughter.

Grace quickly made the portal with her hat. Alice, with Killian's help, took Jefferson and jumped first, followed by Grace and Henry.


	10. Torture

Chapter 10: Torture

Emma:

She opened her eyes and winced in pain as another blow came to her head. Black spots came into her vision again as she tried to regain full consciousness. Lights flooded her vision as she found herself sitting down, bound tightly to a chair. She tried to break her hands out of the rope as they were bound behind her. She struggled as she tried to break her ankles free from the rope's grasp, nearly tipping the chair over.

She felt a hand strike her across the face.

"What the hell," Emma groaned.

"Who are you and what were you doing in my atrium?" the woman's voice yelled.

"I –who are you?" Emma asked as she turned to face her captor. She bit back her gasp when she saw Regina standing in front of her…no, it couldn't be. "Regina?"

"Do not mention that bitch here!" the queen slapped Emma once more.

"Lila, sorry," Emma apologized. "What do you want from me?"

Lila stood in front of Emma and bent over so that their faces were inches apart. "Let me ask again, who are you and what were you doing in my atrium?"

"Where's Alice?" Emma fought.

The queen froze and stood straight. "How do you know about her?"

"Where is she?"

"Who are you?"

"Answer my question first, Lila."

"She's in her tower," Lila seethed. "Now, who are you?"

Emma, confident in her answer, blurted out loud, "I'm Snow White's daughter, the granddaughter of King Leopold."

The queen stood expressionless, and then smiled. "Isn't that wonderful, Snow White has grown up."

"Let me go, now," Emma spit her words.

"Or what? You can't beat me," Lila laughed. "I'm the most powerful one here."

"If you're just like your weak sister, you're not much competition," Emma stood her ground.

"Do not compare me to my sister. I'm better than her. Now, what were you doing in my atrium?"

"We found her heart," Emma said. "They're on their way to find Alice right now."

Lila used magic to choke Emma, cutting off her airways. "You're lying."

Emma struggled and tried to find a way to get air. Seeing this, the queen released her. "I'm not lying," Emma's voice was coarse.

Lila, furious, took her anger out one Emma. She struck her at least a dozen times, leaving heavily colored bruises. She used her magic to untie Emma's bonds, throwing her to the floor. She used her magic to torture Emma.

Instantly, Emma felt her body feel the pain. It was worse than death. She felt lashes of pain whip throughout her body, her lungs were giving up on her, her head felt the blows come and go. She couldn't get up; every time she tried resisting the magic, she was forced back down, continuing to feel the wrath of the torture. Lila only stood by, laughing as she watched Emma suffer.

After about fifteen minutes of torture, Emma felt the pain subside, but felt her tears streaming continuously down her face.

"Guards!" the queen yelled out loud, and five guards came into the room. "Take her into the dungeons. She doesn't have much longer."

The guards obeyed and carried Emma off. Lila turned and smiled with satisfaction as she heard Emma's whimpers of pain trail off with the guards. Slowly killing off the royal families, she softly chuckled to herself. She left the court room and headed straight for Alice's tower.

* * *

Killian:

He stood and found himself once more in the throne room. No one was there, except for the five of them. Not even the queen was in her throne.

"Killian" Alice called. "Jefferson doesn't have much longer."

"How are we going to find Emma?" he asked.

"I have an idea of where the queen put her, but we can't all go."

Killian sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "What are we supposed to do?"

Alice snapped her head up and a thought came to her head. "Take Jefferson and Henry with you. There are mushrooms near both bridges; you can pick whichever one you want. Take about two mushrooms, crush them and spread them all over Jefferson's wound. That's all I can think of; he won't make it if we wait for Emma."

Jefferson nodded and signaled for Henry to come over. "Are you ready for another adventure?"

"You bet I am," Henry smiled.

Killian took one last look at Alice and Grace, "Please find her."

Killian carried Jefferson over his shoulder and followed Henry out of the castle.

* * *

Alice:

"Come on, Grace," Alice urged as she held her daughter's hand. "We must hurry."

"Why don't we just use my hat?" Grace asked.

"It won't work in the place we're going to," Alice explained.

She didn't remember the last time she was in the dungeons, but she still remembered what it was like; cold, dark, lonely, gruesome, it turned people insane. Emma wouldn't last in there.

The returned to one of the maze entrances.

"Why are we going back there?" Grace asked innocently.

"The dungeon is in there. It's in the heart of the maze," Alice said. "Come on, it won't be long."

Alice and Grace entered into the maze, only to find themselves being trailed by guards.

"Mom, they're behind us!" Grace cried.

Alice quickly pulled her mirror out and created a portal. She pulled Grace with her and travelled to the entrance of the dungeon.

"I thought we couldn't use portals," Grace said.

"I remembered my mirror still worked," Alice laughed.

They turned around and face the doors of the entrance. Alice pushed the doors open and caught a wiff of the cold air from inside. She took Grace's hand and guided her into the dungeon. They descended down the old iron stairs into the main room of the dungeon. Grace shrunk behind her mother when she saw the other prisoners.

"It's okay," Alice stroked her hair. "Everything's going to be okay."

Alice continued down the row in search of Emma, but she was nowhere to be found. Alice took Grace with her to the next set of stairs. Together, they climbed down even further underground.

Alice took one of the torches from the wall and used it to light the room. There were only four cells down here, but they were all constricted by magic. Emma was in the first one.

"Mom," Grace tugged Alice's sleeve. "That's her."

Alice walked forward and looked between the bars of the cell and found an unconscious woman. She found the key on the other wall and quickly grabbed it. Within seconds, she was inside of Emma's cell, checking her pulse.

"Grace, take my mirror. Leave the dungeon and make a portal to Killian. Give him my mirror and tell him to come to the dungeons; make sure you tell him we're on the second level. He knows how to use the mirror. And tell him to hurry."

Grace nodded and quickly left. Alice watched until she made sure that her daughter had left. She looked back down to the woman and brought her ear to Emma's chest.

There was no heartbeat.


	11. The Rescuers

Chapter 11: The Rescuers

Grace:

"Henry, what am I supposed to do with this?" Grace cried, feeling hopeless.

"Alice said to just crush the mushrooms and then put them on Jefferson's wounds," Henry tried calming her down.

"It's my entire fault that this happened," Grace said.

"Don't worry, we can do this," Henry reassured her.

Henry took a dozen more mushrooms and crushed them to a pulp. He took this crushed pulp and carefully applied it to Jefferson's wound; Grace followed Henry's actions. Henry and Grace watched as nothing happened, but slowly the blood began to wear away, the wound began to stitch itself up, eliminating the bruised sight. Grace smiled and watched as a shallow breathing returned to her father.

"Henry, look!" she exclaimed, pointing as Jefferson's eyes slowly fluttered open.

Jefferson's eyes opened and he looked around.

"Dad!" Grace wrapped her arms around her father's neck.

"What –what happened?" he asked warily.

Henry explained everything that happened ever since they all landed in Jefferson's room. "Killian and Alice went to rescue Emma while we had to fix you up," Henry pointed out. "They should be back soon though."

"Dad, how long will it be until Mom gets back?" Grace asked.

"Are they in the dungeons?" Jefferson asked, trying to regain his senses.

"Yes, but I don't know what they were doing in there. Emma wasn't awake when we found her."

Jefferson's head whipped up in the direction of the maze.

"You realize that the only entrance to the maze is past the village, right?" Henry pointed out.

"No," Jefferson shook his head. "That's only one of many. There's one nearby."

He stood and started walking, forcing the kids to follow him.

Jefferson:

Emma, please don't be dead, Jefferson thought to himself. He led Grace and Henry around the back of the castle.

"Grace, do you remember what the dungeon looks like on the outside?" Jefferson turned and asked her. "We need to get there, fast."

Grace nodded and used her hat to make a portal. Instantly, they were in front of the dungeon. Grace placed her hat back on her head and followed Jefferson down into the dungeon, followed by Henry. Jefferson took a quick scan on the first level and realized that they had to descend another level. By the time they reached the second floor, he realized that Alice and Killian were inside of Emma's stall, taking no realization that Jefferson was there with the kids.

Killian:

He was sitting on the floor, holding Emma in his arms. No, this can't happen again, he told himself confidently. He leaned over and gave her a kiss, a passionate, longing kiss, in hopes that she would wake up.

"Alice," Killian never took his eyes off of Emma. "What if she doesn't wake up?"

"Don't doubt yourself," Alice placed a hand on his shoulder. "This will work. True love fixes everything.

"How did you know about us?"

"You're not a hard person to read, Killian," Alice laughed quietly. "I know you better than anyone else."

Killian showed a small smile. He checked for Emma's pulse. There was a flutter and a small, very faint pulse was there.

"Alice, she has a pulse, but she's not waking up," Killian said, even more concerned.

"Here," Alice motioned for Killian to move. "Let me try this."

She laid Emma back down on the floor and plunged her hand into her chest, keeping a firm grasp on her heart.

"What the hell are you doing?" Killian asked, flabbergasted.

Alice gave Emma's heart a small, but tight, short squeeze and Emma's eyes flew open. Killian watched as she registered where she was.

"Emma?" Killian smiled and held her in his arms again.

"Killian?" Emma looked and smiled, reaching up to give him a kiss. "What happened?"

"The queen put a temporary sleeping curse on you," Alice explained. "But thanks to my brother, you are now back in the world."

She tried sitting up, but cried in pain. "Yes," Alice continued, "the queen tortured you just like she tortured me. It'll take time to heal, but you'll be able to walk and function just the same."

Alice walked over again, only to help Emma stand straight. They walked out of the cell, slowly, and found Jefferson waiting there, with Henry and Grace.

Alice let go of Emma and looked at Jefferson.

Alice:

She ran up and flew into his arms. "I can't believe you're here," she laughed taking his face into her hands. "I mean, I thought you were going to die."

He leaned in and kissed her. "No, I'm not leaving Wonderland, not without you and Grace. If it weren't for Emma, Killian, and Henry, Grace and I wouldn't be here right now."

Alice smiled and kissed him again. Then she turned and looked at everyone. "Now what do we do?"

"We get back to the entrance of Wonderland," Emma said, still having trouble with her breathing. "We just need to find a way to get past all of her guards."

"Grace and I can use our portals, but I don't know how you and Killian would get back," Alice said.

"I still have magic beans, so we'll be okay," Emma reassured.

"Alright then, let's go," Alice nodded.

They raced up the stairs, with Emma on Killian's back and quickly made their way back to the dungeon entrance. Alice stormed out of the door first, but quickly stopped in her tracks.

"Uh, guys," Alice said.

The queen's army stood in the way, with Lila in the lead.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lila smiled. She looked behind Alice and smiled even more. "Look at that, the two other convicts are here with you."

"Killian, why is she calling you a convict?" Emma held onto Killian.

"I'll explain later," he promised. "We need to split up, but I don't know how I can tell Alice."

There was no need to tell Alice. She turned to Grace and whispered something to her. Her daughter nodded in agreement. Alice grabbed Jefferson's hand and took her mirror. Alice, being the more experienced portal jumper, created an invisible portal and warped away from the spot, leaving Henry, Grace, Killian and Emma. Grace, remembering what her mother told her, took her hat and created a portal for Henry and herself, leaving Killian and Emma.

"It seems as if Alice understood exactly what you were thinking," Emma told Killian.

"Then I guess we take the assault from the front," Killian sighed.

"Well then," Lila told Killian. "It looks as if you'll be the first to die today."

Killian pulled Emma closer behind him. Lila continued. "Guards, I'll be looking for Alice and Jefferson. These two better be dead by the time I come back."

Lila turned and left the guards to Killian and Emma.

"We have to get out of this maze; we can't fight these guards here," Emma said, worried.

"No, that's exactly what we have to do," Killian pulled his sword from its sheath.

The guards that the queen had left to Killian and Emma drew their swords and pointed them at the two. Emma let go of Killian and drew her own sword. Together, Killian and Emma charged.


	12. William

Chapter 12: William

Alice:

_"Killian, why is there blood pouring down your face?" Alice panicked. "How did you get here?" _

_ "Alice, we need to hurry or else they'll find us," Killian urged. "Jefferson's outside. He's trying his best to fight the guards." _

_ "Killian, you know I can't leave." _

_ "You need to go back with Jefferson, Alice. I can't take you with me to Neverland. You'll just be stuck there forever."_

_ "You know I can't leave, I made a deal with her remember?" _

_ "He's not here right now, so it doesn't matter. We need to go, now," Killian was begging her dearly._

_ Alice cried out in exasperation, but she made the split decision and followed Killian. She made sure she had her mirror, and followed her out of the door. The two passed the throne room and ran outside only to find a full scale battle before their eyes. Jefferson was losing to William while Lila was nowhere to be seen._

_ "Where is she?" Alice asked. _

_ "Looking for me?" a voice said behind them. _

_ Alice whipped around and Killian instinctively drew his sword._

_ "Now, now, now, Alice," Lila smiled coyly. "Where do you think you're going?" _

_ "Away from here," Alice spat._

_ "Jefferson already sent Grace back to the enchanted forest," Killian defended her._

_ "I wouldn't think so," Lila turned her head to a guard that was carrying a little two year old baby. _

_ Alice gasped and ran towards her child, but Lila's magic prevented her from doing this. _

_ "If you even try escaping, your daughter will pay for it," Lila said. _

_ "No," Alice seethed with anger as she tried desperately to fight Lila's magic, but the queen only laughed at her struggle. Killian couldn't bear the sight of his sister struggling, so he quickly devised a plan that would cause a mass destruction to Wonderland. _

_ Alice watched in horror as Killian walked away. She screamed after him. "Killian." _

_ "Look at that, your brother abandoned you," Lila sighed. "It looks as if no one really wanted you anyway." _

_ "I am going to escape this hellhole, Lila."_

_ "Don't forget about your deal, darling. Remember that I was the one that got Grace from Rumplestiltskin's clutches. And, you promised to be my servant until you die. You gave up your life, and your daughter's just to make me happy." _

_ "I gave up my life, not Grace's. Grace deserves to leave with her father," Alice said, giving up._

Killian and Jefferson:

_Killian cringed as he heard Alice cry after him. Don't worry, he thought to himself. If this works, the queen will be distracted enough._

_ He briskly walked and helped Jefferson fight William. Besides, he was more experienced in sword fighting. _

_ "Thank goodness you're here," Jefferson said. "Where's Alice?" _

_ "Lila has her, go and get Grace, she's with one of the guards, and try to get Alice too," Killian said, dodging William's swings._

_ "How am I supposed to get them both if Lila is standing right there?" Jefferson cried._

_ "Just try!" _

_ Jefferson slowly backed out of the duel and disappeared from sight. Killian continued to tirelessly fight William._

_ "You think you're better than me, pirate?" William taunted._

_ "I know I'm better than you," Killian said, enraged that William even had thoughts of beating him. _

_ Killian took the offensive and momentarily backed William to the edge of the bridge, but William hung on, keeping the fight even._

_ "You're almost as good as me," William laughed, "yet not good enough." _

_ Killian could hear footsteps behind him. _

_ "Oh look," William sneered. "Your darling little sister has come to help you." _

_ William momentarily put his sword down for only a second, but that was his mistake. Killian took the initiative and drilled his sword into William's heart. William's eyes opened wide as the air was sucked out from his body. Killian ripped his sword from William and watched as his lifeless body crumbled to the ground._

_ "Killian!" Alice cried. "What have you done?" _

_ She took the sword from him and was about to throw it aside when Lila came behind them, holding Jefferson with her magic. She saw Alice with the sword and she looked down to the ground at her dead husband. She made the connection and instantly dropped Jefferson down. She walked over to Alice, but Alice was too quick. She ran back into the castle to find that Grace was still there with the guard. She gingerly took Grace as she realized that the guard had fallen asleep. She held Grace in her arms and ran back out, and tried to sneak off, but Lila saw her. She used her magic to keep Alice immobile. With her magic, she brought Alice over to where Killian and Jefferson were also kept immobile. _

_ "How dare you kill my husband," Lila was seething. _

_ "I -," she looked desperately to Killian, but she saw as he looked at her with pleading eyes. "I had to." _

_ "And why is that?" _

_ "I knew you loved him." _

_ "Like I said, if you made any attempt to escape, your daughter will pay the price. This counts as an escape plan." _

_ Lila took Grace from Alice's arms and brought the sword to the baby's chest. _

_ "No!" Jefferson cried as he was on the ground. "No, you can't kill her. Take me!" _

_ "No, I want you to watch this precious baby die, so you can all suffer the same way that I just did." _

_ She brought the sword up, but stopped when she fell to the ground, dropping Grace on top of Jefferson. _

_ "What the hell?" Lila looked around and saw her attacker. "Ah, Snow White, how charming of you to join us." _

_ Snow White didn't even bother looking at Lila, but quickly grabbed Grace and Jefferson. She threw a magic bean onto the bridge and stepped into the portal that was created. Lila tried to gather what had just happened. "You," she looked at Jefferson as she was getting up. "How long has this been planned?" _

_ "Ever since the day you captured Alice," Jefferson was free from the queen's magic. Jefferson was about the grab Alice but he felt a sword stab into his gut. Alice screamed in horror as she watched her husband fall to the ground. _

_ "Now, you can have a slow and painful death," Lila smiled. "Alice, you can watch him. The blade was poisoned, so this should be fun." _

_ Prince Charming was next to appear. He appeared on the bridge and saw that Jefferson was thrashing on the ground. He ran and picked him up, using his strength to throw Jefferson over his shoulder. Charming used his spare hand to defend himself from the queen. "What are you doing here?" Lila cried._

_ "I'm rescuing my friends obviously," Charming said. _

_ He threw a magic bean to the ground and a portal created. Gingerly, he placed Jefferson in the portal and turned to take Alice. He carried her and turned back around, only to find the portal closed. _

_ "One of you stays," Lila said. _

_ Charming placed a magic bean in Alice's hand. "Go, Alice." _

_ "No," she rejected it. "You go. Make sure Jefferson and Grace live a good life. Make sure to watch over Killian, okay? Promise me." _

_ "Alice, you've been here for too long," Charming shook his head. "Go, tell Snow that I'm here. She'll send a rescue team." _

_ Alice made a face and threw the bean to the ground, watching the portal form. "Okay," she sighed, feeling a tear roll down her face. "I'll leave, but…find Jefferson first." _

_ "What?" Charming had a puzzled look on his face, but suddenly realized what Alice was doing. "Alice, no!" _

_ Alice pushed Charming into the portal and watched as the portal disappeared._

_ "Smart choice, girl," Lila sneered. "Now, I need to find ways to make you pay for my husband's death." _

_ "Just don't hurt my family," Alice pleaded._

_ "I already sent a search party to the Enchanted Forest. They're out there looking for Killian and Jefferson, and now I guess Snow White and Charming…you know, I wouldn't mind Snow White. I killed her mother, it wouldn't hurt to kill her either." _

_ Alice stared in horror at the emotionless monster that stood over her. She felt something injected into her neck, and instantly, she slumped to the ground and went unconscious._

* * *

Lila:

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Lila had Henry and Grace cornered.

"What are you going to do with us?" Grace asked bravely, although she already knew the answer.

"Kill you both, of course."


	13. A Little Bit Longer

Chapter 13: A Little Bit Longer

Emma:

She had been fighting tirelessly for the past half hour and she was still stuck in the maze with Killian. Everywhere she turned, there was a guard, waiting to be killed; it seemed as if the numbers never ran out. Killian fought tirelessly next to Emma, as if this were an everyday thing for him.

"Killian!" she shouted over all of the fighting, "We need to get to Henry!"

"I don't know where we are, though, in the maze!" Killian shouted voice equal.

"Just move forward!" Emma told him, pushing him forward. Killian understood and killed off the guards that came their way. He continued to push forward with Emma watching his back; he made his way around the maze, turning corners, dodging the maze walls. Killian turned and put Emma in the front while he took the back.

"Emma, I don't know where else to go from here!" Killian said. The maze was divided three ways. Emma panicked momentarily and just stared at the paths in front of her. She had no idea where they were in the maze, so she just followed her instincts and followed the straight path. She felt Killian behind her as she moved forward. A new flow of guards came rushing into the maze in their direction. She had the urge to use magic, but the magic just wouldn't come to her.

"Killian, I need to use my magic!" she complained.

"Just a little bit longer, love!" he reassured her.

Just a little bit longer, Emma thought to herself. I'll be able to use magic and I'll be able to get to Henry. She took a deep breath and surged forward, despite the fact she was ready to collapse from exhaustion.

Killian:

Dammit, Emma, Killian thought exasperated. Hurry up and find the damn exit!

Ever since they'd switched positions, they'd been fighting for a whole thirty minutes without stopping. He was about to turn and tell Emma that there was no use, when she made a sudden turn and grabbed his wrist. He felt her frantically pulling him forward. He was thrust to the ground while Emma turned and faced the maze. It took him a moment to realize what had just happened. He watched Emma use magic to create a seal for the maze exit.

They made it out of the maze. They made it out of the impossible maze.

"Emma, how did you do it?" Killian asked.

"I don't know, but we need to go!" Emma pulled him back up.

They realized they found themselves in the back of the castle, so they ran at record speed through the castle corridors, avoiding guards and spies that were stationed throughout the building. They reached the front of the castle in time to find Alice and Jefferson fighting for their lives, one on each bridge. Killian saw as Jefferson was winning the fight, but he saw the fatigue on Jefferson's face, so he ran quickly to help him, while Emma was making her way to Emma. Killian remained by Jefferson's side on the bridge, fighting off any guard that came. Some fell off the bridge; others fell defeated to Killian and Jefferson's feet.

"I've killed enough people today," Jefferson told Killian. "I don't think I can do this anymore."

"Do this for Alice," Killian encouraged him. "Do this for Grace."

Jefferson was running out of breath and desperately needed to get out of the place. Killian looked from the corner of his eye, and then decided that he could take the fight himself.

"Jefferson, go and find Grace and Henry. Make sure they're safe."

He gave Killian a look of gratitude and nodded. Killian watched and tried to hide a smirk as Jefferson hobbled off the bridge, towards the castle. Killian turned and saw more and more guards coming his way, but he simply fought them off. He was beginning to feel the fighting take a toll as his arms began to feel strained. He began to feel his movements slow.

The influx of guards slowed until only one more came rushing his way, and he easily knocked the guard off the bridge, falling to his death. Killian turned and looked for Emma and Alice, but saw no one on the bridge.

Oh no, Killian panicked. He rushed off the bridge and immediately headed for the castle. He went inside and found Emma and Alice looking around.

"Emma!" Killian cried, his voice rugged. Emma ran and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thank goodness!" she said, recovering from panic. She gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Killian reassured her. He looked over to Alice. "I told Jefferson to find the kids because I don't know where they are."  
"I don't know where they are either," Alice said. "We checked everywhere on the castle grounds and we didn't see them anywhere."

"The last place we could think of was the Atrium," Emma finished, giving Killian's hand a small squeeze.

The three of them looked at each other, and then made their way to the entrance behind the queen's throne. Alice reached the trapdoor first, but found it sealed shut.

"Killian," worry began to come to Alice's voice. "The door is locked. I can use my mirror, but I can only take one of you."

"Take me," Emma begged. 'Henry's down there. Please."

Killian knew he couldn't argue and nodded. He turned to Emma and gave her a desperate kiss before releasing her to Alice. Emma's hand lingered in his as she looked him in the eyes. She turned and followed Alice into the portal from her mirror. Killian watched as they disappeared. He began his search in hopes of finding something that would break the door open.

He looked around the general area and found only one helpful thing: the queen's crown. It seemed as if it were something strong enough to break through wood, so he took the item and began bashing it against the wooden door.

An ear-splitting scream came from below, only prompting Killian, making him move faster.

Alice:

Alice and Emma reached the bottom of the stairs, only to find Jefferson held captive, along with Henry and Grace.

"Well, well, well," Lila sneered. "Alice, you couldn't have waited until I killed your daughter?"

Lila dug her dagger deeper into Grace's neck, causing the skin to tear and release drops of blood.

"Lila, please," Alice begged. "Don't do this to her."

"Oh, but you deserve it, after what happened to William," Lila retorted. "Of course, you remember. You're the one that killed him."

Alice proceeded to walk forward, but stopped when Lila gave an ultimatum. "One more step and Grace dies."

Alice looked desperately at Jefferson, but he had no other suggestion as to what she should do.

"Why do you want to kill her anyway?" Emma spoke up.

"Alice deserves to suffer like me," Lila snarled.

Killian, where are you, Alice was beyond panicking. She knew her brother was smart enough to find a way into the atrium.

"How do you know Alice was the one that killed William? Are you sure it wasn't one of your henchmen?" Emma interrogated the queen.

"She was standing right above him! She was the one holding the bloody sword!"

"They framed me!" Alice understood what Emma was doing.

"My guards would never do that to me!"

Alice lashed out at charged at the queen. Emma tried holding her back, but it was too late. Lila slashed her dagger across Grace's throat and dropped her to the ground. Alice cried out in terror as she watched her daughter struggle. A pool of blood was now forming around the little girl's body. Alice rushed to aid her daughter; Emma was so livid that she blindly charged the queen herself.

Alice couldn't tear her eyes away from Grace. The guards were distracted by the turn of events, and it gave Jefferson time to break free. He joined Alice and ripped a piece of cloth from his coat. Alice was cradling Grace while he pressed the cloth to the wound.

"You have to take her to Killian," Alice was choking on her tears. "Take Henry with you. Let me and Emma finish her off."

"Are the herbs outside powerful enough to heal her?" Jefferson was having a hard time holding his own tears.

"You have to try!" Alice cried even more.

Jefferson nodded. Alice gave him a kiss good bye and watched as her two loves made their way to the top of the staircase. It's only locked on the outside, she sighed in relief as she watched Jefferson hand Grace to Killian. Alice turned and distracted the guards while Henry broke free from the bonds.

"Go to Jefferson. He's at the top of the staircase," Alice quietly instructed to Henry.

Henry quickly found Jefferson and disappeared from the room. Alice turned back and fought the guards with her own dagger. She kept glancing to her right as Emma continued to fight the queen. Emma was losing, and Alice knew she had to help her. Alice deflected the guard's blow and body checked him in response. She ran to Emma's side and held onto her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Emma cried.

Alice wordlessly made a portal and they both escaped from the atrium.

Jefferson:

"Please work," he was struggling to keep his composure as the tears kept rolling down his face.

"Exactly what happened?" Killian asked as he was applying the crushed mushrooms to Grace's neck wound.

"Lila gave Alice an ultimatum, Alice disobeyed, and Lila slashed Grace," Jefferson caught his breath.

Killian nodded as he concentrated on the wound. Henry was continuing to crush the mushrooms and watched as Grace's breathing continued at a shallow rate.

Jefferson was standing and watching to make sure that none of the guards would come. He began panicking. "I hope Alice and Emma will make it."

"Alice is smart and Emma's a lot more powerful than you think," Killian reassured him. "They'll be fine."

It was quiet for about two minutes before Alice and Emma appeared in front of Killian, Jefferson, and Henry. Emma looked beat up; a bump was visible above her left eye and a deep gash was running down her cheek. Alice looked perfectly fine.

Jefferson ran and hugged both of them. "What happened? Did you kill her?"

"Jefferson, you need to take Grace and Henry back, now," Alice instructed him.

"I don't want to go back, though!" Henry protested.

"Henry!" Emma said with a firm voice. "I need you to go back. I want you to tell Ma –Snow White exactly what happened, okay?"

"But –fine," he gave in.

"Jefferson, take Grace directly to my father. He'll know what to do."

He nodded. Killian took two more crushed mushrooms and reapplied them to Grace's neck. Jefferson scooped her up into his arms and Henry followed. He used his foot t spin the hat; the portal slowly formed, but the three of them jumped and disappeared from sight.

"So, love," Killian looked at Emma. "What do we do now?"

"We stay and we fight," Emma said, determined. "We're not leaving until that queen is dead."

"Good luck killing me," Lila sneered as she approached Emma and Alice from behind. "Last time someone tried…well, I don't think you want to know."

Emma, Alice, and Killian looked at each other. Emma sighed and stared the queen straight in the eye.

"Let's do this."


	14. There and Back Again

Chapter 14: There and Back Again

Henry:

Henry and Jefferson arrived back in Storybrooke, with Grace unconscious in Jefferson's arms. Henry looked around and found that they were standing on the Storybrooke pier.

"Follow me!" he turned to Jefferson. "We need to find my grandparents as soon as possible!"

Jefferson nodded and followed. They ran through town, looking desperately for the king and queen; Henry didn't care if they were seen because there was no point in hiding.

"Did you even think to check the apartment?" Jefferson asked, struggling to keep up with Henry.

"That's it!" Henry veered in a new direction and didn't wait for Jefferson to catch up. Henry ran for a continuous ten minutes before stopping in front of an apartment building. Henry caught his breath for a moment, and then proceeded to open the door and running up the stairs, two steps at a time. Jefferson came in at a slower pace, walking up the steps. Henry reached the apartment door and knocked frantically.

"Open up, please! Snow, Charming, are you guys there?" Henry was pounding the door.

Before he could continue, the door flew open. "Henry?"

"You're here!" Henry rushed forward and wrapped himself around his grandmother. "We need your help! Grace is dying and we don't know how much longer she has to live!"

Snow nodded and saw Jefferson carrying grace behind Henry. She ushered them into the room, helping Jefferson place the fragile girl on the bed. "What happened?"

Henry explained to Snow everything that happened: the encounter with Lila, saving Grace, meeting Alice, everything.

"Emma, Killian, and Alice are still in Wonderland, and they won't leave until Lila is dead," Henry continued to inform her.

Snow was focused on healing Alice, but she responded. "What sword did she use on Grace?"

"Uh, what?" Henry looked at her.

"Lila, what sword did she use to cut Grace?"

"I don't know. It was a dagger."

"It was an ordinary dagger?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

Snow sighed and continued to heal the wound. Henry continued to speak. "Emma told me to come looking for Charming because she said he'd know what to do."

"He should be back in –look, here he is now," Snow looked up momentarily from her work. "Hey, Henry needs to talk to you."

Charming nodded to Jefferson, then looked at Henry. "Where are Emma and Killian?"

"They're still in Wonderland. They aren't leaving until Lila is dead. Alice is with them too."

Charming didn't even think twice. "I'm going to help them."

"You can't even get to Wonderland without me," Jefferson piped up.

"Take your sword with you, Charming," Snow continued healing Grace's wound.

"How much longer until she wakes up?" Charming nodded in the girl's direction.

"It'll take about another hour, thirty minutes at the least," Snow reassured him.

"Well, by the time I get back with the others, she should be awake," Charming smiled.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jefferson interrupted. "How are you going to get to Wonderland? You aren't a portal jumper."

Charming walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a long, leather case. He opened it and marveled at the sight. "I cannot wait to use this again."

"How long has it been since Lila's seen that?" Snow laughed.

"It's been too long," Charming smiled as he moved the sword in his hands.

"What kind of sword is that?" Henry asked.

"It's called a Vorpal Sword. It used to belong to Lila, and technically, it's Alice's sword."

"You haven't answered my question yet," Jefferson was getting impatient.

Charming went back to the sword's case and opened a secret compartment, drawing out a magic bean and showing it to Jefferson. Jefferson just returned the look with surprise.

"How did you get the sword if it's Alice's sword?" Henry continued his questions.

Charming threw the bean at the floor and a portal began forming. "I'll tell you when the time is right."

He jumped and made his way to Wonderland.


	15. The Vorpal Sword

Chapter 15: The Vorpal Sword

Charming:

_"Just be careful, alright?" Snow White gave Charming a kiss on the cheek. "Remember what happened last time you went to Wonderland. Please don't let it happen again." _

_ "I won't," Charming sighed. He looked over to Jefferson. "Are you ready?" _

_ He nodded. "I just want to get Alice back. Grace is starting to ask about her." _

_ Charming gave Snow a good bye kiss and walked over to Jefferson. He watched intently as his hat made the portal to Wonderland. He took a deep breath and jumped in with Jefferson._

_ When they landed, they were situated right outside of the queen's maze._

_ "Why'd you take us here?" Charming looked to Jefferson._

_ "We need to figure out a plan. If only Killian were here, we could've just jumped right into the castle."_

_ "He chose to stay in Neverland. We can't do anything about that," Charming said bitterly. "I can't believe he chose Neverland over his sister…that bastard." _

_ "I agree. He's the reason Alice is still here." _

_ "Anyways, where do you think Alice is being held?" _

_ "I don't know, the dungeons maybe?" _

_ "Do you know where that is?" _

_ "It's in the middle of the maze."_

_ "Alright then, let's start there."_

_ Charming and Jefferson stepped into the maze together and made their way to the dungeons._

_ It took about an hour before the dungeons came into view. _

_ "Why aren't there any doors?" Killian asked._

_ "I don't know. There were doors last time though," Jefferson looked up and down the building. _

_ "Let's try to break it down," Charming began looking around for anything heavy enough to break down a wall. Jefferson caught on and began doing the same thing. Charming walked around the building, desperate, but there was nothing. He walked back around to the front, but Jefferson was gone. _

_ "Jefferson!" Charming yelled out. "Jefferson!" _

_ "I found something!" Jefferson emerged from the right side of the maze. "Here."_

_ Jefferson took a mini golden pillar about ten feet long from his shoulder and handed it to Charming. "Careful, it's on the heavier side."_

_ Charming nodded and took it without trouble. He faced the wall and looked at it. He walked forward, took an end of the pillar and bashed it into the wall._

_ "This is going to take a while," Jefferson groaned._

_ "This is going to be worth it," Charming said, bashing the pillar into the wall again._

_ Charming went through the same motions until a small hole had been cracked into the wall. He wiped his brow and dropped the pillar; he looked at the wall one more time before kicking it. The wall collapsed and revealed a dungeon._

_ "That training was worth it," Charming laughed. _

_ "Let's find Alice," Jefferson went immediately into the dungeon. _

_ Charming ran after his as they made their way down the row. Every single cell was empty; it was as if no one had been placed in the dungeons for ages. They turned around and went down the stairs to the lower level. They ran to the row, but walked slowly this time, taking time to make sure that Alice was not in any of the cells. _

_ "She's not here," Jefferson sighed, giving up. _

_ Charming turned around and began following him, but something caught his eye. "Look," he pointed to the furthest wall away from the exit. "There's a door." _

_ Charming walked forward, with Jefferson tailing him. "It's locked." _

_ Jefferson tried the knob, but nothing happened. He grabbed a stray stick that was on the floor of the dungeon._

_ "What the hell are you doing?" Charming asked._

_ "I'm picking the lock. I thought you of all people would figure this out," Jefferson smirked._

_ "Yeah, yeah, yeah," Charming waved him off. "Just get on with it." _

_ Jefferson picked the locked with ease and the door creaked open. There was only one ray of light in the room, coming from the cracks on the ceiling. Charming went first, using his sword to reflect the light off the metal. He angled the sword so that the light could balance throughout the room. _

_ "Alice?" Jefferson spoke behind him. Charming turned and saw Jefferson looking at one of the corners of the room. _

_ Sure enough, there was a young woman sitting in the corner, with her tattered blue dress and blood-streaked face. _

_ "Why are you down here?" Charming asked as Jefferson went over to help her up. _

_ "I stole the Vorpal Sword, and Lila caught me," she was straightforward with it. _

_ Charming and Jefferson stood, with their mouths gaped. "The Vorpal Sword?" _

_ "Yes." _

_ "Where is it? I don't see it in here," Jefferson said._

_ "I hid it before she could get her hands on it again." _

_ "We're taking you with us," Charming urged. "We can't be here for much longer." _

_ Alice nodded and took Jefferson's hand. The three rushed out of the dungeons and into the maze. _

_ "Where do we go from here?" Charming asked. _

_ "It's…well, I've learned how to portal jump at a faster rate with my mirror, so I was able to hide the sword fairly quickly and…" _

_ "Yes," both men said at the same time._

_ "It's…I hid it in William's mausoleum."_

* * *

Alice:

_"Come on, we're almost there," the three were now behind the castle. _

_ "Is it that building right there?" Jefferson pointed to the lone building on the lawn._

_ "Yes, unfortunately." _

_ The group ran even faster because the sun was setting and the darkness was beginning to settle._

_ "Lila comes every night to visit the grave, so we better hurry," Alice tipped._

_ "How has she not found the sword?" Charming asked, running out of breath._

_ "It's inside of the actual casket."_

_ "What!" Jefferson exclaimed. "Why would you do that?"_

_ "She would never think of opening that thing again." _

_ They reached the front of the mausoleum and barged through the doors. A lone casket was sitting in the middle of the room. _

_ "Wow, so much for a mausoleum. There's only one casket in here," Charming observed._

_ "It's what Lila calls it, so it's just what I call it," Alice shrugged. _

_ "Alright, let's get the sword and book it," Jefferson pleaded._

_ "I couldn't agree more," Charming replied to him. _

_ Alice walked over to one corner of the casket, Jefferson the other, and Charming the top. Together, they pushed the top off, revealing the corpse of William._

_ "This is uncalled for. Why would you do this Alice?" Charming complained._

_ "It was a last-minute decision," she defended herself. She reached over and took the sword from the King's hands._

_ "Well, well, well, you found my sword," Alice snapped her head and looked at the entrance." _

_ "Charming, Jefferson, you need to go," Alice said, still holding the sword._

_ "Not without you, not again," Jefferson pleaded. "Grace needs you." _

_ "It'll be just a little bit longer," Alice said. "I promise." _

_ Charming took a magic bean from his pocket and threw it to the ground. He took no time to think and pushed Jefferson into the portal. He walked over to Alice, and reached for her arm, but Alice anticipated the move and placed the sword in his hand instead. "Take it." _

_ "What do you think you're doing?" Lila asked, walking in their direction now. _

_ Alice hurriedly pushed Charming in the direction of the portal. "Watch over Grace and Jefferson for me. Keep them safe, and Killian too." _

_ "Alice, no," Charming said. "Come with us."_

_ Lila was only a foot away from Alice and Charming. "I have to. Learn how to use the sword. It'll help a lot." _

_ With that said, she pushed Charming into the portal and watched as two of her best friends disappeared._

_ "He'll never come back with it," Lila sneered. _

_ "Yes, he will. He'll know what to do with it. You don't even know what to do with it." _

_ "I know that it will kill you. It's the only thing that will rip your heart to pieces." _


	16. A Beautiful Lie

Chapter 16: A Beautiful Lie

Emma:

Henry's safe and that's all that matters, Emma thought to herself. I need to get back to Henry.

Emma raced forward, but Lila was too quick. A swarm of guards covered her and she disappeared into the crowd. Emma chose not to look for her just yet, so she fought off as many guards as she could.

"Emma!" Alice cried over the battle. "I'm going to find Lila!"

"No!" Emma yelled back, but Alice had already disappeared.

She turned back around and found herself face to face with a steel blade. Emma immediately backed up, looking to see who her opponent was. The guard swung the blade in the direction of Emma's face, coming up centimeters short. Emma stepped forward and unsheathed her blade and took a turn at the guard, but the guard was too quick and deflected Emma's sword. The two went back and forth, waiting for the other to back down. Emma was beginning to tire when the guard took his turn on going to the offensive. Emma began backing up as the guard was advancing on her. She took a risk at charging at the guard, but the guard was more skilled and knocked the sword from her hand. She watched as it skittered a few feet to her left, trying to figure out a way to get it back. She looked from the corner of her eye and saw that the guard was waiting for her to make a move. She made the split decision and dove for her sword, but the guard anticipated it. Emma tried standing when she had her sword, but the guard placed a foot on her, forcing her back to the ground.

This is it, Emma thought to herself.

Emma saw the guard bring his blade down, in the direction of her heart, Emma's own heart racing. But, the blade never made it. The guard was knocked over. Emma opened her eyes and saw Killian end the guard's life. Oh my god, Emma thought to herself, relieved.

Killian held out his hand, helping Emma get to her feet.

"You should really try a bow and arrow," Killian suggested.

"Excuse me?" Emma said, taken aback.

"It's what your mom used. She was much better with it than a sword."

Emma nodded slowly and understood the fact that she flat out sucked with swordsmanship. "Where would I find bows and arrows?"

"Just think," Killian winked, and ran off, looking for another fight.

Emma shook her head and turned back around. Where did Lila and Alice go?

She looked back down at her sword and realized what Killian had meant. She focused in on a mental image of a bow and arrow and used her magic to conjure the objects. She looked to the ground and saw a bow and a quiver of dozens of arrows lying at her feet. Smiling, she put her sword back in its sheath and picked up her new weaponry. She slung the quiver of arrows over her shoulder and carried the bow. She began walking in the direction of the castle when she saw a guard rushing in her direction. In one fluid motion, an arrow was sent flying in the guard's direction, piercing his square in the heart.

Emma found a new strength.

She continued walking at a quicker rate to the castle.

When she crossed one of the bridges, she took the time to look across to the other bridge.

She found Alice and Lila.

Alice:

Alice had already killed one guard, earning the prize of his sword. She found Lila waiting in front of the castle.

"Have you come to kill me, Alice dear?" Lila mocked. "You know that sword can't kill me."

Alice wouldn't leave without a fight. She walked straight to Lila.

"Meet me halfway," Lila told her, and Alice stopped in the middle of the bridge. She had her mirror ready in case she needed to make a quick escape.

"What can I do for you today?" Lila sneered. "My Vorpal Sword isn't exactly here, so there's no point in trying to take my heart."

Alice could no longer contain her rage and jabbed her sword at the queen's neck. Lila hadn't anticipated the move and felt the sword's tip cut into her neck. Alice smiled, wanting to see more pain from the queen. She went on the offensive and swung in the queen's direction. Lila was having trouble deflecting Alice's moves, but Alice went too far. The queen stopped her and used her magic to take the sword from Alice.

"Sorry dear," Lila threw the sword over the edge of the bridge. She turned back to Alice and smiled. Alice felt that she was immobile and watched in horror as Lila came within inches of her. Alice gasped as she felt a forced tightening around her neck. Her airways were constricting as Lila's magic was forcing the air out of Alice. She was desperate for air, but nothing came.

"Well, it looks like we're going to have to do this again," Lila sighed. She kept her magic on Alice and plunged her other hand into Alice, ripping her heart from her body. Alice gasped in pain as Lila began squeezing her heart. She closed her eyes, wishing someone were there to save her.

The pain stopped within the next second as she felt the iron grip on her neck loosen. Lila was no longer squeezing her heart. She fell to the ground and opened her eyes. She saw an arrow sticking out from Lila's chest.

"What?" Lila said. She dropped Alice's heart and pulled the arrow, gasping in pain when it was pulled from her chest. Alice took her heart and hid it in one of her dress pockets. She looked around and settled on the other bridge, but no one was there. She looked back to Lila who was trying to stop the flow of blood. Alice instinctively got up and ran, but stopped as she felt an arrow whiz millimeters past her face. She froze in her tracks and closed her eyes. She opened them again and saw Emma walking in her direction.

"What the fuck, Emma?" Alice couldn't contain herself. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"You should thank you," Emma looked at her. "Turn around."

Alice turned and saw Lila lying on her back. "You can't kill her, Emma."

"I thought that's what you wanted all along. That's why I shot her."

"You can't destroy her heart. Not with bare hands."

"Watch me."

Alice watched as Emma marched forward and stood over Lila's body. She watched in horror as Emma reached and ripped a heart from Lila. She turned and walked back to Alice.

"Here," Emma offered her the heart.

"I –I can't," Alice stammered.

"Fine then," Emma said with finality. She squeezed the heart as hard as she could and watched with satisfaction as it crumbled to dust.

"Nice try, princess, but that won't work," Lila laughed as she stood back up, finally stopping the bleeding.

Alice looked over Emma's shoulder as Emma turned around, protecting Alice from the queen.

"How is that possible?" Emma cried. "I just crushed your heart."

"Nope, that wasn't mine," Lila sneered as she sauntered over to the pair. "You just helped me kill someone I've wanted to kill for quite a long time."

"My mother already killed yours," Emma said. "Who else is left?"

"You –you killed my mother!" Lila roared. She walked full speed at Emma, but Emma used her magic to freeze Lila in her tracks.

"Who did I just kill?" Emma asked, concerned.

"Think about it," Lila said. "When did you kill my mother?"

"It doesn't matter," Emma said. "It's done now. There's no bringing her back."

"Emma, I think I know who you just killed," Alice said, her voice frozen.

"Who?" Emma asked, turning her head slowly.

Alice looked back and forth between Emma and Lila, hoping that Emma would make the connection. And sure enough, Emma did.

* * *

Rumplestiltskin:

"Regina, Henry's with Snow White and Prince Charming in their apartment," he told her.

"I want to know where they went," Regina seethed.

"Grace came back with him, and Jefferson, but Grace could be dead by now," Rumplestiltskin informed her. "From my observations, if I'm right, it seems as if your son took a little visit to Wonderland."

Regina turned and faced him. "What? Why would he be in Wonderland?"

"My only theory is, Henry had the motive to rescue someone, his mother perhaps?"

"What would Emma be doing in Wonderland?"

"Why don't you ask Henry to answer that question for you, dearie."

Regina glared at him and turned to exit the shop. Rumplestiltskin followed her tracks as they headed for the apartment. Rumplestiltskin ignored the stares they were receiving as they walked down the street.

They arrived shortly at the apartment. Regina didn't even bother knocking on the door as she used magic to open it.

"You won't even bother using your manners?" Rumplestiltskin taunted.

"I want to know what happened to my son," Regina didn't even bother looking at him.

"No, no, no, I believe you mean Emma's son," he corrected.

Regina opened the door and walked in to find Henry standing next to Snow White, who was leaning over the bed, looking at a sleeping little girl. Jefferson was on the other side of the bed. When Snow heard the door open, she turned around.

"Regina? Gold? What are you doing here?"

"Henry, why did you leave without telling me?" Regina demanded.

"Regina, he chose to come with Grace and me to Wonderland," Jefferson defended him.

"I'm his mother!" Regina was yelling now. "I deserve to know what Henry does at all times!"

"You are not my mother and you never will be!" Henry argued back. "I chose to go to Wonderland because I wanted to find Emma because I didn't want to lose her again!"

Regina looked taken aback by Henry's words. Jefferson continued.

"They met Hook when they ended up in Fairytale Land. Hook and Emma were originally supposed to come back here, but they had second thoughts."

"What about Cora?" Rumplestiltskin asked. "She could've stopped them."

"She was dead by the time we left," Snow said without looking up.

"And let me guess," Regina shot daggers at her, "Emma, the savior for us all, killed her with her own bare hands."

"I killed her," Snow said, looking up at Regina. "Any more questions?"

"Why did Hook and Emma want to go to Wonderland?" Rumplestiltskin asked.

"They went to rescue Alice," Jefferson looked at him. "When we discovered this, Grace, Henry, and I went after them because I knew what the consequences would be if they failed."

"Alice…" Regina trailed off. "I thought she was dead."

"She's still alive. They should be back before the day ends."

"Lila will kill them before they can even get back to the maze," Regina smiled.

"Charming is already there, Regina," Snow continued to look at her.

"They need to hurry back," Rumplestiltskin said before turning to the door. "I need Emma's help."

"What's going on?" Regina looked at Rumplestiltskin. "Are you on their side now?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," Rumplestiltskin said.

"Emma's not strong enough for Lila," Regina sneered. "She's more powerful than me. She's a clone of my mother."

"Emma's a lot stronger than you think. She can take down anyone she wants," Snow said in defense of her daughter.

Rumplestiltskin turned the door knob but stopped when he heard a noise behind him. He turned around and saw Regina slumped over on the floor. He watched in horror as she looked around, begging for help, but no one moved. He looked at Snow, who was looking at him, as if asking for an explanation. Henry ran over to Regina and stood over her, watching as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, listening as her breathing stopped altogether.

"Henry, come here," Snow said, shock filling her voice.

Henry obeyed and walked over to Snow, who turned him around and hugged him so he didn't have to see the body.

Rumplestiltskin walked over and checked Regina's pulse, but there was nothing there. He looked at Snow. She cast a spell of Henry and Grace's ears, temporarily deafening any noise that they could here.

"She's dead," he said.

"How?" Snow said, still in shock. She couldn't take her eyes of the limp form.

"Did Lila kill her?" Jefferson asked.

Rumplestiltskin walked over and reached into Regina's chest, checking if there was a heart. "She has no heart."

The room grew eerily silent.

Snow's eyes widened as the truth dawned on her. She hugged Henry closer to her as she placed her other hand over her mouth. Tears started rolling down her face. "Charming just left less than two minutes ago, so he couldn't have killed Regina. The furthest he could be right now is the entrance of the maze."

"What are you playing at?" Rumplestiltskin asked.

"Someone crushed Lila's heart, or so they thought it was Lila's heart."

"Who would do that?" Jefferson asked.

"Alice couldn't have done it because she isn't that kind of person. Killian can't rip hearts," Snow said through her tears.

"Emma did it then," Rumplestiltskin said.

"She must've done it on accident. She couldn't have known it was Regina's heart in Lila."

"Wait a second," Jefferson said, holding his hands up. "If Regina's heart was inside of Lila, then where's Lila's heart?"


	17. Queen of Hearts

Chapter 17: Queen of Hearts

Charming:

Charming opened his eyes and found himself on a bridge to the castle. He looked down and realized that he wasn't wearing his normal clothes anymore; he was wearing his old battle armor. Thank you, Snow, he thought to himself.

He looked around and saw that the guards were still out there, trying to figure out where Emma had gone. Charming took a firm grip on his sword and charged the battleground. When he reached the guards, though, something strange happened. He didn't know what did it, but the guards froze in their spots, immobile. Lila, Charming knew it was her.

He carefully wove his way around the guards until he reached the center.

He found Emma, Alice, Lila, and Hook.

"Well, would you look at that," Lila saw him. "Prince Charming has come to save the day."

"What do you think you're doing?" Charming demanded, pointing his sword forward in Lila's direction.

Lila sighed and began walking in Charming's direction. "I hate to break it to you, but I'm afraid this girl just killed my sister." She pointed to Emma. "I'm not too happy about that, and I'm pretty sure you know what happens when I'm not happy."

Charming walked forward. "Do not touch her."

Emma was lying on the ground with a side wound that was still bleeding; Killian was rooted to his spot; and Alice was unconscious. Emma was trying to focus so she could use magic to heal her wound, but nothing was working.

"Alice took the first blow for her, and guess what happened next," Lila sneered. "You're lucky I didn't poison that dagger."

Charming, livid, lunged forward and swung at Lila. It caught her by surprise, so it didn't give her enough time to move. Charming succeeded in catching his target. Lila moved her hand to her face as she felt blood running down her hand. Charming swung again, but this time Lila deflected it.

"How dare you!" she cried. She conjured a ball of fire and threw it in Charming's direction, but Charming's blade blocked it from even reaching him.

"You won't win this, Lila," Charming said with confidence.

Emma:

She tried looking for her father's face, but her vision was just too blurry. She turned her head left and right, searching for the source of the voice. She tried rolling over to her back, but the pain was unbearable. She heard the swishing of a sword fighting against Lila's magic.

"Emma, don't move!" she heard someone call out.

She inched forward toward the voice, struggling. She tried to move forward, but she felt an agonizing pain in her shoulder.

"No!" she heard the voice again.

"Why does she matter to you?" she heard a female voice. "She's just a girl who was trained to you magic."

Her vision began to clear slowly as she saw Lila facing off with her father. She slowly turned her head and saw Alice just a few feet away. She turned her head even more, fighting the pain, and saw Killian standing further away.

I need to help my father, Emma thought to herself. She brought her right hand to her shoulder and screamed in pain. There was a dagger that was protruding; she closed her eyes and grabbed the hilt. Preparing mentally for the pain, she held her breath and pulled the dagger from her shoulder.

"Emma!" she heard her father yell.

She opened her eyes and saw with clear vision. She looked helplessly around and saw her father looking at her. She grabbed the dagger and charged the queen.

"I don't think so," Lila laughed and deflected the dagger.

"Don't hurt her," Charming said. "Take me instead."

"And why would I do that?" Lila sneered. "Why do you care about her so much?"

"If you let Killian go, I'll tell you," Emma said. "And, you have to let him go with Alice."

"You honestly think I'll do that?" Lila said, unimpressed.

"I have something you need," Emma said.

Lila silenced at the comment and looked at Emma. She walked over to Killian and released the spell. "Take Alice and leave," she commanded. "Leave before I change my mind."

Killian looked between her and Emma. "Emma, I'm not leaving without you."

"Killian, go. I promise, I'll come back to you and Alice."

"Think about what you're doing."

"I am. Just listen to me. Go back to Storybrooke with Alice."

"Yes, do listen to the girl," Lila mocked.

Killian sighed with grief and walked toward Alice. "How do I get back? I don't have any magic."

Lila rolled her eyes and created a portal with her own magic.

"How do I know this leads back to Storybrooke?" Killian asked as he slung Alice's unconscious body over his shoulder.

"If that doesn't lead to Storybrooke, I will get rid of the thing you need, Lila" Emma threatened, now standing next to her father.

Lila glared at her and once again waved her hand. "Happy?"

Killian looked longingly at Emma before disappearing with Alice in the portal.

Emma inched closer to her father, who reached and held her hand. "Whatever happens, Emma," Charming said, "I just want you to know that I love you, and Henry, and your mother."

"We will get back to Storybrooke," Emma reassured him.

"Where were we?" Lila turned to Emma and Charming.

"You wanted to know who I am," Emma looked at Lila straight in the eye. "Then I'll give you the answer. I'm Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter."

Lila looked puzzled and shocked. "And what is it you have that I need so badly?"

Emma never took her eyes off of Lila. She mustered all of her energy and focused on Lila alone. She let go of her father's hand and walked to Lila. Lila only laughed and sent a force of magic Emma's direction, but the magic didn't touch her.

"Nice try, Lila," Emma said, stopping only inches away from her.

"Do you honestly think you can beat me?" Lila said starting to worry.

"I know I can," Emma said.

She sent of force into Lila and sent the queen flying back a few yards away. Emma turned and ran back to Charming. "Dad, I need you to go somewhere and wait. I can't risk you getting hurt in this."

"Emma, I'm not leaving your side. You need to realize that you're not the only one in this, alright?"

"Please, I don't want you to get hurt."

"Emma, I'm not going to let you do this on your own. There's no other choice."

Emma turned and saw that Lila was back on her feet. She grabbed Charming's hand and ran towards the front courtyard of the castle.

"You can't get away from me," Lila snarled. She sent magic, forcing Charming to stop in his tracks, seeing that the magic had no effect on Emma.

"Let's not forget something, Lila," Emma said, removing the magic from her father.

Charming held his sword in front of him, as Emma stood by his side. Lila, infuriated, sent magic towards Emma's direction. Charming pushed Emma out of the way just in time. Lila kept coming, but Charming kept deflecting the blows with his sword. With each deflect, Charming kept inching closer to Lila, as she kept backing to the edge of the courtyard. Closer and close, she got to the edge, slowing reaching the drop off between the bridges and the courtyard.

"Well, this feels a little too familiar," Lila smirked. "Let's change things up."

Charming anticipated the move and sent Lila to the ground, his sword pointed at her chest.

"You won't kill me," Lila taunted him.

"You're right," Charming said.

"But I will," Emma walked over and stood next to her father.

She brought out a wad of cloth from her jacket and showed both her father and Lila.

"What is that?" Lila asked. "You can't do anything with a cloth."

Emma removed the cloth and listened as both gasped at what was hidden. Sitting in Emma's hand was a heart, as black as night.

"How did you find it?" Lila asked, panicking.

"It wasn't that hard," Emma said calmly. She turned to Charming. "You don't have to watch this if you don't want to."

"No, I've been waiting for this for my entire life," Charming said.

Emma looked into Lila's eyes, seeing the looks of desperation, but Emma only stared and began to crush the heart in her hand. Emma watched as the queen writhed in pain, seeing that the air was leaving the woman's lungs.

There was only a small portion left of the heart when Charming stopped her. "You won't be able to get rid of the entire thing."

"Wait, why?" Emma asked, still holding the heart. The queen was nearly lifeless.

Charming took the heart from Emma and placed it on the ground near his feet. He took his sword and drilled it into the small piece that was left. Lila took one last breath before she was gone.

"Why'd you do that?" Emma asked.

"The only thing that can permanently kill the queen is the Vorpal Sword," Charming informed her.

"I thought it was Alice's sword. And, she isn't here right now."

"Well, it somehow got into my possession," Charming flashed the sword.

"And, how did that happen?"

"I'll tell you some other time," Charming laughed.

"What do we do with the body?"

"We'll figure it out later," Charming said.

"Do you mean we're still coming back?"

"Well, we need to do something with her corpse. We can't just leave it here."

"Alright then," Emma shrugged her shoulders. "Let's get back to Storybrooke now."

She fished the box of beans out of her jacket and took a bean.

"You found our stock of beans," Charming laughed.

"Yeah, it wasn't that hard to find," Emma smiled.

She threw the bean into the ground, making a portal.

"Oh yeah, what did you mean you've been waiting your entire life to see Lila die?"

"Well, here's the thing…"


	18. The Ruler and The Killer

Chapter 18: The Ruler and The Killer

Lila:

_She appeared on the front doorsteps of the castle. She picked a good day because the king was away, negotiating with another king for a trade. The guards were gone and the villagers were still sleeping. She quietly entered the castle and made her way through the entrance hall. _

_ Where would she be, Lila asked herself. _

_ She wandered through the halls for a solid hour, looking for Odette, but she was nowhere to be found. _

_ She was about to give up when she heard laughter ringing through the halls of the castle. _

_ "Let's do that again, mother!" a little girl's voice cried out._

_ "When your father comes back home, we will do that again," a woman laughed._

_ "Mother, why are there footprints here?" Lila heard the girl. _

_ Lila held her breath as she continued to listen. _

_ "Snow, I want you to find the guards and tell them to hurry," the queen's voice suddenly sounded urgent. _

_ Little footsteps hurried off in the other direction as Odette continued forward in Lila's direction. Lila stood firm and held her ground. She watched slowly as the queen turned the corner._

_ "You," Odette said with anger._

_ "Yes, me," Lila said calmly. _

_ "What do you want? How did you get into the castle?" _

_ "Your guards are sleeping. You lack security for your home." _

_ "The guards are on their way."_

_ "It doesn't matter. We'll both be gone before they even get here." _

_ Odette, livid, turned and began walking in the other direction, but the queen used her magic to keep her from moving._

_ "Let's make this simple, Odette," Lila said. "I'm going to kill you, and then I'm going to leave." _

_ Odette looked at her and knew that she had no escape. "Kill me, but promise me that you won't hurt my daughter." _

_ "That's easy enough," Lila shrugged her shoulders. _

_ Lila walked around until she was facing Odette. "You let your life go so easily." _

_ "If it's for the best, then I've lived all I've needed to," Odette held her head high._

_ "What a shame, such an innocent and kind soul going to waste." _

_ "Love and kindness will always win; don't forget that, Lila." _

_ "Whatever you say, swan princess." _

_ Lila thrust and ripped the heart from Odette's body and watched as Odette crumbled to the floor. Lila tilted her head in curiosity and saw that the heart she was holding was pure gold. She ignored the idea and crushed the heart in a quick manner. Instantly, the queen was dead._

_ "So much for love winning overall," Lila sneered. _

_ She turned and used magic to transport herself from the castle. She left just in time, before the screams came. She didn't see Snow White fall to the ground, crying, trying to make her mother come back._


	19. Reunion

Chapter 19: Reunion

Emma:

She checked her surroundings and realized they were at the pier. Emma turned to herself and found her father standing with her.

"Where do you think they'll be?" Emma asked.

"They're either running from Gold or their still in the apartment," he told her.

"Why would they be running from Gold?"

"When they Gold finds out that Alice and Killian are siblings, things won't be too pretty."

"Well then, we better hurry."

They took off running to the apartment.

Charming:

He climbed the stairs in front of Emma and made his way to the door. He tried the knob, but it was locked. He was getting too impatient, so he hurriedly kicked the door open.

"Why did you do that?" Emma cried.

Charming looked in the apartment and gaped at the sight. Regina's body was still on the floor with Henry crouched over her. Snow was busy healing Alice, who was still unconscious. Jefferson and Killian were busy talking in hurried whispers in one of the room corners. And there was Rumplestiltskin, standing in the middle of the room, staring straight at Emma and Charming.

"Well, well, well, look who's come back from the dead," Rumplestiltskin mocked.

"What's going on?" Charming asked, slowly stepping in the room, taking in his surroundings.

Snow looked up from her work and gasped. She quickly got up and rushed to embrace her family.

"You're back," Snow cried.

"I promised you I'd come back," Charming planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Emma, I'm so glad you're back. Are you alright?" Snow said, hugging Emma.

"I –I can't be here right now," Emma turned and walked out the door, but Charming stopped her before it was too late.

"Did something happen that I didn't know about?" Charming asked.

"I'll talk to you outside," Snow guided him to the door. "Jefferson, will you please feed Alice the solution I prepared? It's sitting on the kitchen counter."

Jefferson immediately obeyed and left Killian.

Charming watched the room disappear behind the door.

"Here's what happened…" Snow began.

Henry:

Henry looked down at Regina's empty face. I can't believe she's gone, he thought to himself.

"Henry?" he heard Emma say. He looked up and found her standing above him. "I'm so sorry. I don't know how else I can put it."

Henry looked back down at Regina. Maybe this is a good thing, he thought. He stood back up and looked up at his mother. He smiled and gave her a hug. "It's okay, you didn't know. You couldn't do anything about it."

Emma sighed and hugged him back. "Just promise me you'll never hate me for doing this."

"Maybe this happened for a reason," Henry shrugged.

"Let's hope so," Emma smiled.

Killian:

He kept stealing glances at Alice, wondering when she would regain consciousness. He walked over to where she was lying on the floor. He sat down and stared into her blank expression.

"She'll wake up soon, don't worry," he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder.

He looked up and found Emma standing above him.

"Hey," he smiled, inviting her to sit next to him.

"What happened anyway?" Emma asked. "I don't even remember a thing."

"Lila tried throwing a curse at you, but Alice, being the hero she likes to be, stepped in front of you, hitting her instead," he explained.

"I owe her my life," Emma sighed. "Why have I been making so many mistakes?"

"Hey," Killian put an arm around her shoulder, letting Emma lay her head on his shoulder. "You've done nothing wrong. If anything, you did everything right. I'm mean, come on, you helped rescue Alice. She's free from Lila."

"I don't know," Emma ran a hand through her hair. "I killed someone. I don't kill people."

"You killed Lila?" Killian asked.

"Yeah…I kind of killed Regina too…why am I such a bad person?"

"You're not a bad person. You did the right thing."

"Killing people is the right thing?"

"Only when it's necessary, it's the right thing to do."

"I guess. I just don't know how I can let this go."

"I know it'll be hard, but everything will be okay," Killian reassured her by kissing her forehead.

Jefferson:

He watched from Grace's side as Killian and Emma went to sit by Alice's side.

"Daddy, why is Mom asleep?" Grace asked, turning around to face his dad.

Grace had been awake ever since Killian and Alice landed in Storybrooke.

"She'll be awake soon," Jefferson pushed a few loose strands away from his daughter's face.

"What happened?"

"She helped defeat Lila, Regina's sister."

"The woman is dead now?"

"That's right," Jefferson smiled. "Now, we never have to go back to Wonderland. We can stay here in Storybrooke until we go back to the Enchanted Forest."

"But, I want to go back. I liked it there," Grace smiled back.

Rumplestiltskin:  
He'd been analyzing the entire scene ever since Emma and Charming joined the picture. With Regina and Lilia gone, he stood as the most powerful individual in Storybrooke. I can have all the magic I want, he thought to himself.

He looked over as Charming and Snow reentered the room.

"Gold, why do you need Emma's help?" Charming asked in a stern voice.

"We'll talk about that later," Rumplestiltskin held up his hand. "As for now, what will Alice want to do when she wakes up?"

"We won't find out until she actually does wake up, will we?" Snow looked pointedly at him.

"I don't think we should tell the others of the town that she's here," Rumplestiltskin said. "No one's seen her in decades."

"I have to agree with him," Charming looked at Snow. "How long do you think it will be until she wakes up?"

"Tomorrow could be the earliest," Snow informed them, "but I wouldn't count on anything."

"Speaking of which, how did Emma find Lila's heart? When I went to Wonderland, I couldn't even find it," Rumplestiltskin asked.

"Emma," Charming called out, getting everyone's attention. "How did you find Lila's heart?"

"When Henry and Jefferson found Alice's heart, I was on the other side of the room in the atrium. There was a case that said 'Regina.' I thought it was Regina's, so I took it. When I crushed the heart that inside of Lila, Lila didn't die, and that's when I realized…anyway, I remembered that I had the other heart I found in my jacket pocket, so I crushed that one. That's what killed Lila," Emma explained.

"Interesting," Rumplestiltskin said.

"Daddy," Grace called from the bed. "Mom's waking up!"

All eyes turned to where Alice was lying. Sure enough, she was stirring.


	20. Rebuilding

Chapter 20: Rebuilding

Alice:

Alice hugged Charming and Snow one last time before she walked over to Jefferson, Grace, Emma, and Killian.

"Thank you, again," Alice looked at the two of them, "for everything."

"You'll make a great queen," Snow squeezed her shoulders.

"When you get back to the Enchanted Forest, we need to find a way to connect the worlds so that people can come and go," she told Snow.

"Don't worry, the minute we get back and rebuild, that's the first thing we'll do," Charming promised her.

Alice smiled once more and turned to her group that was waiting for her.

"Ready?" Alice asked.

Jefferson nodded and spun his hat. Together, the five jumped into the portal.

She opened her eyes and found herself standing in the ruins of Wonderland.

"What happened?" Emma asked, taking in the surroundings. "We were only gone for a week."

"I guess when Lila died, Wonderland died along with it," Alice said. "Then again, maybe that's a good thing."

"How is that a good thing?" Jefferson asked. "We're supposed to live here, with this place looking like this?"

"No," Alice smiled and held Jefferson's hand. "We're going to rebuild it, together."

Emma:

"How long do you think this will take?" she looked at Killian.

"As long as it needs to take. This is their new home, so we need to help them all we can," Killian said. "I know you want to get back to Henry, but remember, he agreed completely with this idea."

"What about the people, the people that live here. Will they listen to Alice?"

"Believe me, love, they will worship her," Killian laughed and slipped an arm around Emma's waist. "They hated Lila."

"I couldn't agree more with them," Emma laughed and placed a kiss on Killian's lips.

"Come on, let's help them with the villagers," Killian smiled.

"Oh, so now they're villagers?"

"It's the common term," Killian rolled his eyes, amused.

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?"

"What do you want me to do, refer to them as commoners?"

"It doesn't matter to me," Emma smiled and walked forward towards the family.

Jefferson:

He picked up his daughter and placed her on his shoulders. His wife walked in step on his right side as they made their way through the black iron gates.

"Do you think they'll listen?" Jefferson listened as Alice asked.

"You'll be just fine," he reassured her.

They walked through the town and made their way to the wooden stage that was placed in the middle of the village. Emma and Killian followed from behind. Jefferson placed Grace back on her feet before helping Alice onto the stage.

"Don't leave me," she looked into his eyes.

"I'll be right here," he reassured her once more.

He looked on as Alice began.

Alice:

She cleared her throat and yelled over the people. "Attention!"

The thing about Wonderland was that Lila placed a spell on the gates. Whenever a commoner looked beyond the gates, they only thing they would see was the castle, and nothing more. The people were so afraid of Lila because they saw her so little, and they weren't willing to find out what she was really like.

The people stopped in their tracks and looked in her direction. She listened to the whispers that came from the people.

"It's really her."

"She's the one."

"Isn't she dead?"

"How is she alive?"

"Her heart was taken by the queen."

"It can't be."

"It's not possible."

Alice cleared her throat and began. "The queen is dead; although I'm sure all of you know this by now."

Silence.

"We can't leave this land in ruins as it is now. We need to rebuild this place and turn it back into the land it used to be, the place where people came and went, the place that people wanted to go to. If we leave it like this, you will all be trapped here forever."

Silence.

"We need a new ruler, a new king and/or queen. I can't do this by myself; I need help, please. We need to stop the segregation that still exists here. This isn't Lila's land anymore. This is our land."

Alice paused once more, ready to speak, but the crowd roared in applause. It wasn't the reaction she was expecting. She beamed at the people, happy that she had them on her side. People began shouting out.

"We're free!"

"Freedom, at last!"

"The queen is dead!"

Alice jumped when she heard someone clear their throat next to her. She turned her head and saw Emma standing on the stage with her.

"Can I have your attention?" Emma's voice rang loud and clear, and the noise died once more.

"I'm going to make this simple. Raise your hand if Alice should be the new queen on Wonderland."

The masses raised their hands.

"Well," Emma took her turn to smile to the people, "that's settled. I give you Alice, Queen on Wonderland."

She bowed and gestured to Alice.

"Emma," Alice turned to her, trying to hide her smile. "I don't know if I can do this."

"Your brother is a Captain, a leader. I'm pretty sure it runs in the family," she playfully tapped Alice's shoulder. "You get to restore the glory back to Wonderland. Grace will finally have a home. Jefferson will be your king."

"How did you even get onto the stage?" Alice asked.

"You were so busy giving your speech, you didn't even notice me switch spots with Jefferson," Emma shrugged.

"Well, that makes sense…How am I going to see you guys again? There's only one way to get to Wonderland."

"You've met the family. We'll find a way," Emma laughed and hugged Alice. "Take good care of Jefferson and Grace, alright?"

"Take good care of my brother," Alice mocked.

"I keep him in line," Emma smirked.

"Come back soon, when the real Wonderland is back," Alice made Emma keep the promise.

"I promise," Emma said as she walked back with Alice to the group.

Alice walked over to Killian first and embraced him. "I'm going to miss you."

"We'll be back soon, love. You can count on it," Killian reassured her.

She watched as Grace jumped into Killian's arms, latching onto his neck. "We won't be gone long." He placed a kiss on her forehead.

Grace only smiled and said good bye. Killian looked at Jefferson and shook his hand. 'Take good care of these two."

"Consider it done," Jefferson smiled.

Alice made a portal with her mirror and watched as the two jumped and disappeared.

She turned to Jefferson and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Here's to a new life as a complete family."

Jefferson hugged her back and leaned down to give her a kiss, sealing the deal.


	21. New Beginnings

Chapter 21: New Beiginnings

Emma:

"Well, they're back to Wonderland. Alice is their new queen," she turned and smiled to her mother.

"How long do you think it'll take to build the bridge? I mean, we're using my magic, yours, and Rumplestiltskin's."

"Hopefully it'll be done in a few months, but we can't really guarantee anything."

"Yeah…are you sure you're ready to go back to the Enchanted Forest with us?" Snow looked at her.

"I might as well give it a shot. What do I have to lose?" Emma laughed.

Snow rolled her eyes and smiled. "I'm going to check on your father and Henry, just to make sure that they'll be ready."

Emma bid her good bye and turned once more to face the pier. She breathed in the salty air and closed her eyes.

_I'm going home_.

She opened her eyes once more and reflected on everything that had happened in her life so far. She was only halfway through her thoughts when she felt someone wrap their arm around her waist.

"Killian!" she playfully punched his shoulder. "Don't do that to me."

"I'm sorry, love," he now had both arms wrapped around her. "You looked so concentrated on something, I couldn't resist."

"I can't believe I'm going back to the Enchanted Forest…I'm going home."

"I? I believe you mean 'we'."

"Obviously," she laughed and turned to face him, this time, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Now it's our turn to rebuild the place."

"I can't wait," he kissed her forehead.

"Do you think Henry will like it?"

"He'll love it," he smiled. "He'll have a king and queen for grandparents, a princess for a mother, what more could he want?"

"I don't know actually…" Emma looked down, then back up and stared out to the sea.

Killian studied her face. "Love, what's wrong?"

"Henry won't have a father and the fact that Rumplestiltskin is coming back with us doesn't really sound so comforting to me."

"Well, I can't really change Rumplestiltskin's mind, you know," Killian smirked.

"I don't think anyone can change his mind," Emma sighed.

"I can change one thing, though," Killian let go of her.

"And, please, tell me, what is it that you can change?" Emma asked, puzzled.

Killian stepped back a bit and gazed into Emma's eyes. Emma rolled her eyes and folded her arms. She only stared back at him, waiting for something to happen.

Killian fished in his pocket before presenting a small black, velvet case in his hand. He walked forward and stopped short in front of Emma, this time his face serious. Emma watched with tears forming in her eyes as he dropped to one knee.

"Oh my god," Emma laughed through her tears.

"Emma Swan, with the permission of your parents and your son, will you take my hand in marriage?"

The ring truly was a sight. With silver plated into the platinum band, the pearl that stood out caught the eye. The pearl itself was embedded in silver. "It was the ring my father gave to my mother," Killian told her.

"Oh my god, yes," Emma cried. "Yes!"

Killian smiled and slipped the ring on Emma's finger. "It's a perfect fit," she told him.

Emma looked up to him and wiped her tears. She brought him closer, only separating him by a few centimeters.

"I love you, Killian Jones."

"I love you, Emma Swan."

She leaned in and gave him the most passionate, meaningful kiss she could possibly give him. The moment so sincere, they could've lived in that moment for an eternity. It was the symbol of a new beginning for the two.

On the inside of the ring, the words were inscribed: _The Beginning of Forever_


	22. Author's Note

Author's Note

**Thank you so much for reading this, especially to those who stuck it out until the end! I love you guys so much. Shouts out to the frequent reviewers, I couldn't have done it without you guys. I know it's not the best story, but thank you very much to keeping things positive and using constructive criticism. Thank you so much for all the support. This is the end of my story with Killian and Emma, unfortunately L Feel free to experiment with the story, if you would like. If not, then it's all good. But, thank you again to every follower and favorite-er (if that's even a word), and to every single person that gave both _Unbroken_ and _Resistance_ any review at all. I love you guys. J**


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